Cursed Saint
by Sasaui7
Summary: Ryu Sarutobi, everyone knew, was the child watched over by the elderly Hokage, but nobody could guess the past he had, just like nobody could guess what he was.  How will this one child effect the lives of everyone in Konoha?
1. Preview

**Okay, I don't know about you guys, but I always check someone's profile before/after I read their stories. I don't know why - I just do. But seeing as I'm not sure how many do, I'm moving this from my profile to here. The first one of these I saw was by cvhoneybee (person from narutofic), who isn't on anymore (that I know of), even if she was a great author. And then Silverwolf1213 did some, so I finally started doing them, too. I plan on doing one for my other main stories, which include Never Too Late, Final Wish, and Will of the Dragon. But those may take some time, but watch for them, too, if you enjoy this one.**

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><p><strong>Everyone has a past….<strong>

_He stumbled back, trying to escape the person he loved. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. When someone loved you, they were supposed to care for you. Yet, in that moment, the person who was supposed to care for him was trying to hurt him._

_"Come on, Ryu. You're leaving."_

_With that, his brother grasped his arm, yanking him to his feet to take him away._

**Everyone has a secret….**

_"Why won't you tell me?"_

_"Because it doesn't matter," Ryu replied calmly, though at the moment he wanted to snap at her._

_The Komichi cocked her head to the side, staring at the boy. "It's just a simple ring. What could be so secretive about it?"_

_Ryu almost laughed. Nobody knew just how many secrets it held, or what it was his ring hid._

**How long can you run from them...**

_Ryu's eyes slid to Ino, sitting perfectly still, her eyes flickering between him and Raido, her pale jade eyes confused. He couldn't blame her. All she could do was pick up small pieces of what they were talking about. Nobody would understand what Raido meant when he asked Ryu if he wanted to know who it really was._

_His eyes dropped, fear making him not want to speak. How could he tell Ino his secret? He'd been running from it, from what was inside him, for years now. He had seen how Sakura reacted. Would she fear him just the same?_

**Before it starts to catch up?...**

_"Ryu!" Chouji exclaimed, trying to catch him as he flew back._

_A scream pierced through Ryu's lips as he slammed into the tree. Before he even had the chance to slide down, the robed man was before him, holding him up by his throat. He struggled, but it was in vain, the man's grip unrelenting. "Let me go!"_

_The man laughed. He tilted his head back, the hat no longer hiding his face. "Hello, Ryu."_

_"You," Ryu whispered, freezing. No. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be true. It had been four years, and there was no way that he could find out where he was. Yet he was staring into the killer's eyes._

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><p>So, did you guys enjoy it? Does it have you eager for the story?<p> 


	2. Prologue

**Edit: The anbu thing has been changed to a jounin/chunin because, as someone quite rightfully pointed out, it was exaggerated.**

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><p>The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the Third Hokage's window as he looked out over the village known as Konoha. Everything was quiet, most of the people at home already with their families. Some were still heading toward their homes in a hurry, one actually tripping over her own feet. Despite the Hokage's attempts, he couldn't suppress the chuckle that came out.<p>

He smiled, happy to see his home, the place he loved and protected no matter what, at peace. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around, thinking about how it was a week before the Academy's new students were supposed to start. A lot of the parents were mad at him for putting Naruto with their children in school, but he, like all the others, was eight, the age in which the children began. Hiruzen would not ignore him when he so badly wanted to be a ninja.

The elderly Hokage began to turn, yelping with surprise when a shadow flew passed him, a bag of something on their arms.

"Get back here!" another figure yelled, landing on the roof in front of the Hokage. It was a man wearing wearing the usual attire for a chunin or jounin. The manshot forward, pursuing the other figure.

The Hokage's eyes narrowed, wondering what was going on. He quickly thought through it. Hiruzen turned, strolling from the room and down the hall. After descending down the many steps, he exited the building. Then he walked passed the gate, nodding to a villager as he walked passed him. Hiruzen walked slowly, almost like he was waiting. He glanced around, locking on to the chase he'd seen before.

The figure the man was chasing wasn't too tall and looked male. He was quick as well, performing moves so quickly and purposefully Hiruzen knew that the person the ninja was chasing was quite smart. Hiruzen watched as he jumped forward, grasping a pole and swinging himself around, kicking the chunin or jounin in the face before completing a circle, flinging himself to the building to the right of them. The one being chased slammed against the wall, and then he shot forward, ducking under the ninja who had retaliated and was jumping at him. He grasped the man's leg and threw his own up, slamming them into the ninja's back and sending him toward the wall at a greater speed than he'd been going. The figure dropped to the ground and immediately started running again. He didn't even look up. But when he did, his eyes widened as he saw the elderly man.

"Sorry, old man," he said.

The Hokage's eyes widened as he saw the person. The male had black hair with a few spikes that were white, one of which were hanging over his face, light lavender eyes that reminded him of the Hyuuga's, and fair skin. He wore a black T-shirt, a ring with a yin-yang symbol on it, white shorts, and black ninja shoes. What surprised him the most, though, was he was no older than eight.

"Move, Hokage-sama!" the ninja yelled, pulling his hand back.

"No!" the Hokage yelled, but it was too late. The man sent the kunai flying at the boy. The Hokage watched as it neared, the boy's eyes flickering back toward him a moment before he got to his feet, not looking like he was about to move.

"Sorry, old man," the boy repeated, yelping when the kunai embedded itself into his back. Hiruzen winced as he heard the kunai pierce the child's skin. The boy suddenly tensed before hitting the ground.

"Stunning kunai," the man explained when he landed in front of them. "Oh, crap." The ninja, like the Hokage, just now realized it was a little boy, who, apparently, had just been hungry based on the fact he had a bag of what the Hokage could guess was stolen food.

The Hokage stared for a moment. "He protected me," he said, making the man look up. "As soon as he saw I wouldn't move and it might hit me, he seemed to decide he wasn't going to move." Hiruzen stared for only another moment at the twitching, paralyzed boy before making his decision. "Bring the boy up to my office."

"Why?" the boy asked, apparently able to talk despite the fact he couldn't move.

The Hokage smiled. "So I can hear your story, lad. I need the reason for the crime to know the punishment."

**An Hour Later**

The Hokage sat in front of the boy he'd learned was named Ryu Zenjin, his eyes slightly wide. "Really?"

Ryu nodded. "You wanted my story, and that is it." Hiruzen could tell Ryu was afraid to ask the next question. Hiruzen looked at the boy, quickly scanning through the cons and pros of the choice he thought would be best. It all depended, though, on what Ryu thought.

"Well, seeing as you're, well, let's say orphaned," the Hokage began, slowly smiling, "how about the Leaf adopts you as one of its many citizens?"

Ryu stared at him, open mouthed.

"This is how I show my gratitude for your noble act though it wasn't needed," Hiruzen explained.

The Hokage laughed at the huge smile spreading across Ryu's face . "Thank you," he whispered, then more loudly, "Thank you!" as he flung himself at the Hokage in a grateful hug.

The Hokage laughed, knowing he could never heal the boy. From the tale he'd told him, he'd been through a lot of pain. The best he could do was make it better.


	3. Taken

The thud of footsteps echoed in the forest, coming right back to Hana's ears. Her partner, who went by Wolf and refused to reveal his real name, glanced over at her. Like herself, Wolf wore an anbu mask, but his was the shape of a dog and hers was the shape of a cat. They both wore the usual anbu outfit, and both of them had a red mark on their arm indicating they were, indeed, anbu members. Wolf had spiky timber wolf hair and Hana had rose red hair falling in waves passed her shoulders.

"Where did the Hokage say the enemy had been spotted?" Wolf asked Hana, his voice muffled by the mask.

"By the border," Hana replied. The two members were on a hunt for two highly dangerous Konoha Strict Correctional Facility (the prison Mizuki went to) escapees.

Wolf nodded as he registered this. "That's what we thought. And since that's the case, we should sense them soon," he said. "Be prepared."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Just because you've been her longer than me doesn't make you my boss," she muttered. But she did as he said, putting herself on high alert and glancing around.

"What was their names? One of them sounds familiar," Wolf said.

"One is Daichi Shigamo," Hana said.

"No, the other one."

"Oh. You mean the one who used to be the interrogator, Shiro-"

They both must have sensed the chakra at the same time, because the next instance both of them had a kunai out, stopping on the tree they were on. Blurs came at them, and Hana, not able to see Wolf anymore, blocked the attack of the blur that had been coming toward her.

The figure muttered a curse word when she kicked him back into a tree. It was a man with dark scarlet hair, black eyes, and olive skin. He wore a blue ragged shirt and blue ragged pants, the normal outfit for a prisoner at Konoha Strict Correctional Facility.

It was Daichi Shigamo. "Speak of the devil," Hana murmured, getting into a battle stance. Daichi smirked, running forward. He punched at her face, which she dodged by leaning her head to the left. She quickly realized his punch was just a distraction when he brought his knee up to slam it against her gut. She held back a yelp. The next second he leaned back and brought the other leg up, kicking her again, but this time in the chest. Hana flew back, and Daichi jumped after her.

Big mistake.

Hana stopped herself by using her hands. She was glad she was wearing gloves since she would've gotten a few splinters if she hadn't been. Hana flung herself up so that she was right in front of Daichi, her waist at level with his face. She gave Daichi a round house kick the face. Before he had time to go back, Hana delivered another kick, hitting him directly in the side. He flew into the trunk of the tree to her left. Hana smirked as she landed in a crouch on the tree branch.

"You've improved quite a bit, Hana," a familiar voice that sent chills down Hana's back said.

Hana turned slowly. Behind her was a man with such light blond hair it was almost white pulled back into a small ponytail, broad shoulders under an outfit similar to the one Daichi was wearing, pale jade eyes, and pale skin.

"Shiro," Hana murmured, feeling strange emotions build up in her. Conflicted, she thought the emotion was, but wasn't a hundred percent sure.

"You know, I thought I'd be mad to see the one who put me in jail, but I still feel the same affection as always." Shiro stalked toward her, his gaze making her freeze in her spot.

Something she'd never told Wolf since he probably would've kept her away from the mission was she also knew Shiro, but no because he was once the interrogator of Konoha. It was because she'd gone to the Academy with him. Not only that, but they'd actually been dating. He'd gone power crazy, though, and Hana had fought him. He didn't kill her, and she knew he wouldn't have, but she did stall him until the anbu arrived.

Which was why she felt responsible to put Shiro back in jail. Without a moment's hesitation, Hana jumped at him. She pulled her kunai back.

Shiro smiled, getting in a stance Hana was familiar with. "Maybe you'll be more of a challenge than the guy I just fought."

It was then that Hana saw the timber wolf haired colored anbu member lying limply beside of Shiro. Without thinking, she skidded to a stop. "Wolf!" The name tore itself from her throat. Rage built inside of her. He'd not only been somewhat her friend and her teammate, but he'd been like a sensei to her. The bond a sensei and student could be strong at times, and the bond that had been built between Wolf and Hana, despite the fact Hana had never noticed it before, had become quite strong. She sent Shiro a if-looks-could-kill glare. "I'll kill you!" she screamed.

Shiro smiled. He was sick and twisted that way, Hana thought. Taking joy from seeing pain in others. She did handsigns so quickly she actually wondered if she'd skipped some. "Kahen style! Petal barrage jutsu!" The air around Hana shimmered, and then she was surrounded by Sakura tree petals. She pointed at Shiro and the petals flew at him.

She watched as he pulled out a kunai, slicing the petals that were aimed at places that would due serious damage and ignoring the minor ones. Hana started another batch of hand seals, saying "Kahen style! Petal blade jutsu!" More petals appeared, swirling around her arms to form two blade like figures. She dashed at Shiro, slashing at him before he finished slicing all of her previous jutsu. Hana stabbed at him, but he surprising dodged it.

"Dang," Hana muttered. Shiro slashed at her, coming dangerously close to her masked face, knocking the mask off. Hana attempted a few more strikes, but he dodged them each with grace, just like she did with the kunai stabs and strikes he sent her way. That was why she was surprised when she felt a kunai bury itself into her side. The scream that came from her lips were more from surprise than pain. It was an opening though, and Shiro took it. His free hand shot forward, slamming against her forehead before he grabbed her head from the front.

"Mind style! Mind-body bind!"

Despite the fact nothing was there, Hana's arms and legs slammed into either each other or her sides as if she'd been tied up. She knew the jutsu he was using. It made it so that her mind thought she was bound, causing her to remain completely still with her arms and legs straight.

"Thanks for your help, Daichi, but it was unneeded," Shiro said, a smile on his face. It was then Hana realized Daichi must have thrown the kunai that had struck her. Shiro looked Hana over, sighing. He was so close that the breath collided with her own. "Sorry, but it seems I have to kill you, Hana-chan," Shiro said, a strange look appearing on his face. It only took her a moment to figure out that he knew something he could do to extremely annoy her.

And she knew what it was before he leaned forward, his lips meeting hers. She tried to back up by leaning back, but only ended up slamming into a tree she hadn't known was there. This only allowed Shiro to come closer, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back. She remembered when she used to live for this closeness and wondered how she'd been so insane to like it.

Shiro finally pulled away, still smiling. "Goodbye, Hana-chan." He clenched her head again.

Then everything went black.

Light pink petals swirled around in the air, falling from the branches of a Sakura tree. A pink haired girl sat near the tree, her emerald eyes following the petals. She wore a long sleeve blue shirt with diamond shaped holes in the sleeves, white pants, and blue ninja shoes. Tied in her hair was a bright red ribbon.

"Hey, Sakura!" a familiar voice called. The pink haired girl glanced back to see a girl with blond hair and bright green eyes running toward her. She wore an orange shirt with red stripes on the short sleeves, as well as a kanji, blue shorts, and blue ninja shoes.

"What, Ino?" Sakura asked the girl as she got to her. A huge smile spread across the blond girl's face.

"You idiot. Class is going in for recess, and after that we're going on a search for ninja tools for training, remember?" Before Sakura could reply, Ino grabbed her arm and yanked her up. "Well, you do now, and that's all that matters, right?"

Sakura laughed. "Sure, Ino." Ino dragged Sakura forward, heading for the group of kids trying to all get into the Academy at once. Sakura watched, following them as they went inside. She stayed as close to Ino as she could, but it was hard at times with all the kids.

The kids suddenly stopped, forming a type of circle. Since Ino always thought these things meant fights, she grabbed Sakura's wrist and dragged her forward, ignoring her protests completely. Ino sighed when she saw what it was. "Just those two clowns again," Ino muttered.

A soaking yet Iruka-sensei was standing in the circle, his hands on his hips. He glared down at two boys, both of whom had water balloons in their hands. One was Naruto, a blond haired boy with bright blue eyes, strange whisker-like marks on his tan skin, and, Sakura had to admit, a cute face. He wore a white shirt with a red swirl on it and blue shorts. The other boy looked almost the exact opposite. He had black hair with three or four white spikes, pale lavender eyes that reminded her of those a Hyuuga had, and pale skin. Like Naruto, he had a cute face, but he also tended to annoy everyone. He wore a black shirt with a black scarf around his neck, black pants, and black ninja shoes. Despite the fact he had light colored eyes, hair spikes, and skin, everything else was dark. The thing that stood out the most of the boy's black clothing and hair was the light that seemed to shine in his eyes.

The boy was Ryu Sarutobi. Everyone besides Naruto and a handful of others slightly feared him for two reasons. He joked around sometimes, which was the only time he'd smile. Any other time Ryu looked either emotionless or sad. One time a friend of a friend of Ino's tried to ask him if he wanted to be friend, and he'd said, "Please leave me alone." Sakura wasn't sure, but she thought she was the only one who saw the pain that flashed in Ryu's eyes when the girl got teary eyed and left. It was the only reason Sakura didn't write Ryu off as a complete jerk. Not only that, but he had his moments when he was really nice. The other reason is their parents, oddly, wanted them to avoid Ryu. They said he was as dangerous and monstrous as Naruto.

"Can't you go one day without getting detention, Naruto?" Iruka asked. Then he glared at Ryu. "And Ryu, what would Hokage-sama say if he saw this kind of behaviour?" Nobody knew why, but it was like the Hokage was Ryu's adopted grandpa or something.

Ryu grinned. "Actually, he'd probably laugh."

Iruka attempted a stern look, but finally sighed. "The bad thing is your probably right." Iruka just sighed. "Both of you must stay for detention after school," he finally said. "Understood?"

Ryu and Naruto just grinned.

The strange thing was that as soon as they were told to get up, Ryu fell into the shadows, his face turning emotionless. The only ones able to make Ryu show any emotion whatsoever were Naruto and Hokage-sama. Sakura had actually seen him give a full blown smile before, and had been stunned since for a moment he didn't look like the Ryu she'd known. And all because of the Hokage getting pranked by Naruto when he'd visited their class.

Iruka rolled his eyes before looking at everyone. "Okay, class. Let's get to class so I can assign you to your groups," he instructed.

"Let's go, Sakura," Ino said happily, grabbing Sakura by the arm and dragging her to class. "I wonder who will be in my group. Of course I want you to be. And Sasuke, too. With him we'll get done real fast. And maybe….."

Sakura smiled, used to her friend's rambling. She did it occasionally when she was excited. Sakura began to wonder who would be in her group as well.

"As long as Naruto and Ryu aren't in it, I'll be happy."

Sakura sent a sideways glance at the two. She didn't really like Naruto that much since her parents had told her to avoid him, but Ryu was slightly different out of the two outcasts. Sure, he seemed like a happy kid and goofed off a lot, but he seemed to let very few people in. He gave off a strange, cold aura like Sasuke that seemed to scare everyone away.

Everyone filed into class, quickly finding seats by their friends. Sakura sat between Ino and a Hyuuga girl named Hinata. She wasn't exactly friends with Hinata, but she didn't dislike Hinata either. Her shyness made it so the Hyuuga had very few friends.

"Okay class. As you all know, today we'll go out in the forest and locate some ninja tools I have hidden. You will use the skills you've learned to find them. Everyone will be put into a group of three but one group since we have a number that isn't quiet divisble by three."

Sakura looked at him, wanting him to just get on with it. Iruka began reading names off of a list. "Ino, Chouji, and Shino," Iruka said, making Ino groan.

"The bug freak and pig boy?"

Sakura was tempted to say "Be nice", but bit her tongue. She was too focused on Iruka, willing him to call her next so she could finally find out who her team members were.

"Naruto, Aki, Sakura, and Ryu," Iruka listed. Sakura's gaze flickered toward Naruto and Ryu. They both beamed at each other, and then Naruto beamed at Sakura. Following Naruto's gaze, he went back to being emotionless when he saw her. He really did only show emotion toward Naruto. After that, she looked at Aki. She has a pretty brown haired girl with black eyes and very popular - and very mean.

"And I thought my team was bad," Ino remarked. "It would actually be better, though, if you didn't have to deal with Aki."

Sakura sighed. "I'll just have to deal, huh?"

Ino smiled. "Guess so," she remarked.

Iruka finished announcing the rest of the groups before saying, "Okay class. Get into a line so we can go to the forest. You'll find your group members when we get there."

All of Sakura's classmates talked excitedly to each other, either bragging or complaining about the group they were in. Sakura and Ino had chosen to sit in the very front, so they ended up having to be in the very back of the line. And right behind them was Naruto and Ryu, talking nonchalantly to each other. And right in front of them was none other than Aki. Sakura felt like groaning. IWhy me?/I Sakura couldn't help but think.

Ino sent Aki a glare, sticking her tongue out when she glanced back to glower at Sakura. "Fly away on you're broom, which," Ino said.

Aki sent Ino a glare before turning to face the front again, muttering something about worthless trash. Ino muttered an insult a little more creative (and would get her grounded for a month if her mom heard), making Sakura roll her eyes. But she still couldn't help but smile at Ino helping her out. It was hard to believe there was a time where she was all alone and people were making fun of her slightly too-big forehead.

The class followed Iruka as he led them toward the forest, saying hi to people they knew or hugging relatives real quick until they realized the were lagging behind and ran to catch up with their friends.

They arrived at the forest sooner than Sakura liked, but couldn't complain. "Okay, class, find your group. Then one of the group members needs to get a paper to tell you what to find," Iruka said.

"Well, if it's Sakura's freakishly big forehead, nobody could miss it," Aki murmured to one of her friends.

Though the comment stung, Sakura showed no emotion. Sakura glanced back at the two boys. Naruto grinned at her when he noticed her looking. Ryu, to Sakura's surprise, was staring at her, a look of sympathy in his eyes.

"Shut up, Aki," Ryu, to Sakura's surprise, told her.

Aki laughed. "Look at that. One freak protecting another." Even though she said this, her voice trembled slightly as she looked at Ryu. He looked over at her, and Sakura realized why. Aki blushed and looked quickly away.

She, despite her strange why of showing it, had a crush on Ryu.

And Sakura thought everyone liked Sasuke-kun like her.

Ryu walked passed her, smiling slightly. He glanced back at her. "Ignore what she says. Everything she says is wrong." Surprisingly, Ryu Ismiled/I at her. After that he walked up to Iruka to get the paper they needed.

Ino snickered. Chouji was to her right and Shino was getting their paper. "I think you've caught a certain boy's attention."

"No. I don't think that's it," Sakura said, remembering the sympathy look he'd given her. Everyone called him a freak, so it might explain why. He knew the pain it caused.

Ryu came back a moment later, reading over the list. "The first item on our list to find is a kunai with a fake explosion tag around it," he told them.

Sakura nodded, instantly beginning to search. Aki smirked, walking the same way she did. "Hey, Sakura, move your forehead. I can't see anything with it in my way."

Sakura pursed her lips, happy that she was looking down since her face felt hot. She did, however, glance up to see Aki's friend searching the area around her just so they could hang with her.

"Yeah, freak," another girl said. "You're going to make us all fail this activity."

Sakura felt tears fill her eyes. She hadn't felt like this for a while, but Aki had suddenly really wanted to bully her.

Wait a second. Aki had a crush on Ryu, and Ino thought he might be crushing on her. If that was so, then that meant Aki'd been meaner because she'd thought the same thing. Sakura forced herself to ignore their mean comments and try to find the kunai.

"No boy would ever like a freak like you."

"I bet you're parents let you be a ninja-in-training just to get you out of the house."

"Yeah, Aki's right. There's no way a weakling like you would make it passed wannabe-ninja."

They laughed, then Aki said, "I guess that forehead of yours must really make it hard, huh? Always weighing you down. It's your greatest weakness! You're forehead's so large even a four year old could hit it!"

Sakura felt herself beginning to crack.

"You say you like Sasuke, but there's no way he'd like you. He doesn't like Ifreaks/I with gigantic foreheads!"

"Shut up, Aki!" Ino shouted. She must've sensed how close Sakura was to cracking.

But it was too late. That had been it. She'd always thought that Sasuke would never go for her because of how everyone said she was a freak because her forehead was so large, and it was a sensitive spot. Aki saying it was like a blow to the gut.

Sakura bolted away, refusing to hear anymore of what Aki had to say. She hated how people treated her the way they did. She knew it didn't matter what bullies like Aki and her friends (who were the only people who still tortured her) said. But they'd just sent constant, insults her way. Sakura could handle a couple, but not as many as they'd said without Ino there, and she'd intervened too late.

She didn't know how far she was from the group, but she finally stopped, gasping for air. Sakura sat down on the ground, bringing her knees up. She rested her chin between her knees as she wrapped her arms around her shins. "Jerks," Sakura murmured.

"Found you," a voice, the owner clearly out of breath, said about five minutes later. Sakura glanced back, surprised to see Ryu there. Without hesitating, he walked over and sat beside of her.

Sakura just stared at him, refusing to speak. "May I ask why you followed me?" she finally asked.

Ryu smiled at her. "Because you looked like you needed someone." His lavender eyes turned from her to the sky above. "Aki's wrong, you know. Her definition of freak is way off."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And what's your definition of freak?"

Ryu was silent for a moment, and she could tell that he was thinking it over. "Someone who can just turn their backs on people they care about. I see that as someone who can do that a freak of nature, and it's basically my definition. It's probably way off, but I'm not writing a dictionary here."

She couldn't help but laugh. "No, you're not. And neither am I, so I'm sticking with your definition." She blurted before she could stop herself, "Why do you turn away from everyone else and now you're trying to make me feel better."

Ryu smiled. "Because I know how much it hurts to be called a freak, and they have no reason to call you one."

IBut they have one for you?/I Sakura thought about asking this, but didn't. She liked seeing Ryu happy too much. She would never admit it, but he had a nice smile.

Ryu opened his mouth to say something, a smile on his face, but then he suddenly tensed. "Duck!" Before she had a chance to, his forearm was against her chest and forcing her down. She winced when her back collided with a rock, but was glad Ryu had done what he did when she saw a barrage of kunai fly over them.

Ryu jumped to his feet, a thick stick in his hands. "Show yourself!" Ryu barked, and if Sakura didn't see the way his arms shook, she never would've guessed he was afraid. He even sounded more like a strong, powerful warrior rather than a small shinobi-in-training.

Two men materialized in front of them. One man had dark scarlet hair, black eyes, and olive skin. He wore a blue ragged shirt and blue ragged pants. The other had such light blond hair it was almost white pulled back into a small ponytail, broad shoulders under an outfit similar to the one the other man wore.

Ryu examined the blond haired one dozens of times, and then his eyes widened. "Crap!" he shouted. "Sakura," he whispered. "Get up and run when I get to three. One."

The blond stepped forward, a friendly smile on his face. "You're Ryu Sarutobi, right?" he asked.

Ryu didn't answer, but he was really shaking now, and Sakura could see fear in her eyes. Sakura slowly got to her feet, making the blond turn his attention to her.

"Oops. We'd meant to get you alone, but it seems we were too focused on you to notice your little friend."

"Two," Ryu said under his breath. He stood protectively in front of Sakura. "Tell them the name Shiro Yamanaka." Ryu whispered the next sentence so quietly Sakura barely heard it.

Sakura flinched when she heard Ino's last name. Was this man related to her best friend?

"Three!" Ryu cried, charging forward. Sakura froze, knowing she should run.

IDang it! Move./I Sakura told herself. The blond smirked while the scarlet haired one laughed. The blond's hand shot forward, grasping Ryu's forehead.

"Mind style! Mind-body bind!" he shouted.

"Ryu!" Sakura cried as his body tensed, then came together as if he was tied up. Ryu hit the ground, struggling against something that wasn't there. His fearful lavender eyes rested on her.

"Sakura! Run!" he yelled. The next moment the blond sneered and kicked him in the face, making him shut up.

Without thinking for a moment, Sakura turned and took off. IRun. Run! RUN!/I she shouted to herself. Sakura kept on seeing the blond kicking Ryu. He was trying to protect her. Him, a ten year old boy three years from graduation, had attempted to fight off two full grown men. "Why protect me, Ryu?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to answer.

A blue and scarlet blurred passed in front of her, stopping a few feet a head. Sakura skidded to a stop, trying to turn and run the other way, but then the scarlet haired man's hand shot forward, grabbing her neck collar. She was forced back, and then the man's arms were around her waist. Without a moment's hesitation, he took off the way they'd come.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Sakura screamed, struggling so much she actually wore herself out before they got to the spot she'd run from.

The blond man was leaning against a tree, a bored look on his face. Ryu was on the ground, still struggling against an invisible force. The friendly smile from before appeared on the blond's face as he pushed off the tree and walked toward them. The scarlet haired man put her down, holding her firmly by the shoulders.

"Well, that was a good try, I must say, but you didn't run when you were supposed to," he said.

Sakura gulped, staring into what she thought looked like frozen jade eyes devoid of any pleasant emotions.

The man looked Sakura up and down. "Hm…. You look like someone I know. What's your name, little girl?"

Sakura kept her mouth shut and just continued to tremble in fear.

The blond's smile got a little scary as he grabbed her forearm. "I asked you," he began, and Sakura let out a scream as pain shot up her arm. She knew he wasn't gripping hard, but she still felt the worst pain in her life, "what is your name?"

"Sakura Haruno," she gasped out.

Rage flashed through the blond's eyes. "Impossible. Hana Haruno's niece?"

Sakura was shocked. "You know my aunt?"

The man's hand shot forward, gripping Sakura's head so tightly that she whimpered. "Sorry, but you're coming with us," he said. "Mind style! Mind pain jutsu!"

If Sakura had thought the pain she'd felt a moment before was the worst, she was now wrong. The pain was so great in her that she started to wonder if she was going to die. She heard a scream and it wasn't until a moment before she blacked out she realized it was her own. 


	4. The Mind Invader

"Sakura!" Ryu cried, watching in horror as the pink haired girl went limp. He struggled more against the invisible bonds that his mind falsely said were around him. "Leave her alone, Shiro. It's me you want, not her."

"On the contrary," Shiro said, stepping away from Sakura. Without any carefulness, Daichi flung Sakura up by the arm, wincing when she slammed against his shoulder. Daichi put his arm around her waist to keep her from falling, Shiro examining every moment with curious eyes, "I'm starting to wonder if I want to take the girl more than you."

"Please. I'm begging you. Just leave Sakura alone," Ryu pleaded.

IPromise me you'll do whatever it takes to protect the ones you care about./I The memory of the familiar weak voice rang through Ryu's head. He saw black eyes gazing at him, pleading with him to do as he asked.

Shiro chuckled, walking up to Ryu. He grabbed him by the shirt collar, bringing him off the ground by it so they were eye to eye. "Tell me, Sarutobi, have you ever been betrayed?"

Ryu's gut knotted up. Was it possible that…..

"Probably not," Shiro answered himself. "But that betrayal gives birth to the want of revenge. Sometimes the want of revenge can be a lot stronger than the want to prove yourself or get something as common as money." He chuckled. "Enough talk, though. We need to get going before the Anbu track us down again." The escaped prisoner's hand shot forward, grasping Ryu by the forehead. "You chose the wrong time to wonder from the group, little Sarutobi." A cold amusement filled Shiro's eyes as he said, "Mind style! Main pain jutsu!"

Pain exploded within Ryu, a scream torn from his throat. The pain was so strong that Ryu could barely think. Darkness tried to push down on him, attempting to drag him into unconsciousness.

He couldn't faint, though, no matter how tempting it was to end the pain. He had to try and protect….. protect. It took Ryu a moment to remember her name his mind was so clouded from pain. Ryu had to try and protect Sakura.

Shiro pulled his hand away, staring at Ryu in fascination, yet also in confusion. "How are you still conscious? Even Anbu members have fainted from the pain created from the mind pain jutsu," Shiro said.

"Leave….. Sakura… alo-" Ryu couldn't finish. It had taken all of his energy to just stay conscious during the jutsu. He looked over at Sakura as his eyes began to close, the darkness reaching up to claim him. II won't let them hurt you, Sakura,/I Ryu thought before he was dragged down into the darkness of unconsciousness.

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

IBecause of your selfishness,/I an unfamiliar voice echoed in Ryu's head, Ithe child your wife shall give birth to will be cursed for the rest of his life. Because of what you have done, your cursed child shall be the destruction of the world as you know it./I

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

Ryu blinked, the words of his dream echoing in his head. He'd expected to be in his bed at his apartment, so he was confused when he felt hard earth against his back. The air filling the area he was in seemed damp. Moss even grew on a few of the rocks he saw. A couple stalactites hang from the ceiling, stalagmites reaching toward them.

He wince, his head throbbing. Ryu reached up, and as he rubbed it, memories came rushing back to him. Sakura running through the forest. Him following her to make sure she was okay. Shiro and Daichi ambushing them. Being bound by the mind bind jutsu. Sakura running, but Daichi catching her. Watching the mind pain jutsu being used on her. Then the mind pain jutsu being used on him.

"Wait. Sakura!" Ryu whispered under his breath, forcing himself onto his feet.

"Ryu," a familiar voice whispered, fear filling the voice. "Ryu, are you awake? Was that you talking?"

"Sakura!" Ryu exclaimed, recognizing her voice instantly. He searched the dark cave quickly, frowning when he didn't see her right away. Then he spotted her in the very corner, the shadows falling over her so it concealed her hiding place. He got to his feet, pausing when he realized what that meant. So Shiro really had taken him. He also noticed the fact that he could now see metal bars through the corner of his eye. It had been blocked by a small bolder.

"Ryu!" He didn't have to go to her. Instead she was suddenly on her feet, running toward him. She flung her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Even if he understood the situation, he blushed.

"It's….. it's going to be okay," he stammered, still a little stunned. When Sakura tensed, he realized his hesitation in his sentence had frightened her. Then, adding as much confidence as he could into his voice, Ryu said, "Even if something bad happens, I'll be here to protect you. Trust me."

To Ryu's surprise, that actually reassured her. He hadn't expected her to trust in his strength too much. Why would she? He never tried in class. Nobody knew how well he could actually fight. Not only that, but they were against rogue ninja who used to be Anbu level.

"I do trust you," Sakura said, finally releasing him from the hug. "I'm sorry. I should have run when you'd told me to." Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, which made Ryu's stomach clench. He hated to see people cry.

"Don't worry," he said. "They're very powerful. They probably would have caught up to you."

Sakura sniffled, reaching up to wipe off the one tear that had managed to escape. "Ryu, who are they? Why did they want you so badly? Why….. why did they take me as well?"

"I'm not sure why they'd take you," he said.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "But you do know why they'd take you." It wasn't a question, but Ryu still avoided it by not saying anything.

IIf I tell her anything, she might be more afraid than she is now…../I Ryu looked away, refusing to say if he did or didn't know them.

Sakura stared at him for a moment before she walked back to the corner and sat down. Without a moment's hesitation, he sat down beside of her. "How long have you been awake?"

"About an hour or two," Sakura whispered, like she couldn't bring herself to make her voice louder.

He felt his heart clench. She'd had to watch him sleep for two hours, fearing someone would come by and kill one of them. He looked out the steel bars, not seeing anything but another rock wall. "I'm sorry, Sakura," Ryu said.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Sorry for what?" she asked.

Once again Ryu held back the answer. Just because he was so close to the Third, Sakura was in danger.

"Well well, you're finally awake," a familiar voice said, making both Sakura and Ryu look in front of them. Standing beyond the gate's bars stood a man that made Ryu's blood boil. Shiro. Ryu watched him with pure loathing as he took out a key and opened the metal door. He walked in, shutting the bar door behind him.

Ryu automatically got to his feet, ready to protect Sakura. "What do you want?" Ryu snapped, taking a step forward so that Sakura was behind him.

Shiro chuckled. "What? Do you seriously think you could stop me if I went for the girl?" Almost to prove his point, he was suddenly right in front of Ryu, his hand reaching around him. He heard a shout behind him, so he knew that his hand was closer to Sakura than he liked.

"Get away from her!" Ryu tackled Shiro without a moment's hesitation, which seemed to be what he'd wanted.

Shiro smiled, grabbing Ryu by the head and slamming him into the wall. Sakura screamed, scrambling out of her corner and away from Shiro. Ryu kicked and punched, but he couldn't get Shiro to let go.

"How 'bout I take a little peek at your mind, huh?" Shiro said, smirking.

"No!" Ryu yelled, struggling harder. He flinched as he felt something strange. It was like something was reaching into his head, tickling his brain. The next second the tickling turned to pure pain, feeling similar to how it had felt when Shiro had used the main pain jutsu on him.

"Show me what you know," Shiro murmured, the pain growing more intense.

"No," Ryu growled between his grounded teeth. "I….. refuse!" Ryu threw up mental shields as Shiro tried to delve into his mind.

"You keep on struggling and I may just end up destroying your mind," Shiro warned, but Ryu knew his threat was false. He knew how Shiro's abilities worked.

Once again the weak voice from his memories asked him to promise to protect the ones he cared about. Well, he cared about all the leave villagers, and if Shiro got what he wanted, all of them would be in danger.

"Stubborn little brat," he muttered, pushing harder into Ryu's mind. "Just give up. There's no way a kid like you can take what even a jonin can't stand."

"Get out of my head," Ryu murmured, the pain weakening him beyond what he could ever have thought. He was on the verge of fainting from the pain the jutsu caused. "Please." He knew he shouldn't have added the last part. It just proofed he was desperate, but he wanted the pain to stop.

Shiro smirked, pushing against his mental shield harder.

Ryu could feel the cracks in his mental wall, so he struggled to fix them. He clenched his fist as he concentrated, which compelled Shiro to shove ten times harder. His back arched of the wall as pain shot through him. Ryu started to wonder just how long he could keep up his shield.

An image passed through his mind. It was of him, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed Indian-style, laughing hard. Ryu wore a grey shirt with a yin-yang shirt on the shoulders, black pants, and ninja shoes. Two other boys were around him, laughing as well. One was a boy about two years older than Ryu. He had snow white hair, pale eyes like his own, and fair skin. He wore a light blue shirt, black pants, and blue ninja shoes. The other boy was six years older than them, laughing a little more lightly than the others. He had black hair, pale skin, and black eyes. He wore a black vest over a white shirt, blue pants, and black ninja shoes.

"No!" Ryu shouted, his voice so loud he couldn't believe he'd been able to get his voice so loud. Shiro shouted, falling back. Ryu fell to his knees, unable to stay on his feet. He shook, pain coursing through his body from the sudden shock at Shiro's mentally being yanked out of him. Ryu shook his head, his voice a mere whisper as he said, "No. Not those memories."

Shiro remained on the ground a few feet from Ryu for a moment before finally getting back to his feet. The look he gave Ryu was different. There was still curiosity in his gaze, but there was always fear. Without another word, Shiro left the two Academy students.

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

"What was all that about?" Daichi asked as the Yamanaka strolled out of the hostage's cage. "You entered the kids mind, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Shiro replied, walking passed his fellow escapee to one of the small beds they'd set up for themselves. "I only saw an image of him when he was younger and two other boys, though."

Daichi's eyes narrowed. "Was he seriously that strong willed to block you out?" Daichi inquired.

Shiro stared at the ceiling above him, feeling his head shake. "I'm not sure. One second I'm seeing the image of him and those other boys, then I hear him yell no. After that, well…." He hesitated, unsure if he wanted to tell Daichi the rest.

"Well what?" Daichi demanded.

Instead of answering, Shiro glared at the other man. "Do you have the food ready or not?" he snapped. Daichi blinked in surprise. "Well?"

"Not yet. I came to see-"

"Just get it done!" After Daichi left, Shiro sighed and tried to relax in the bed. It was hard, though. Every time he closed his eyes he'd see Ihis/I face again.

The moment after the Sarutobi child had screamed no, an image had passed through Shiro's mind. It was nothing that could have been a memory. Shiro didn't feel that kind of chakra in a memory.

The boy he'd seen in the image had been the same age as Ryu, but he was nothing like that boy. The boy Shiro had seen had pure white hair, eyes that were momentarily closed, and pale skin. He was wearing a blue, almost black, sleeveless jacket that was cut down the middle, the neck raising around his neck, the jacket stopping a little more than half way down his torso, showing a slightly scarred chest. He also wore black pants with a red sash around his waist. He held a sword behind him with his left hand, his other hand forming half a tiger symbol. The blade was a light blue color, a few patches a shade darker, the area it was on resembling scales. It looked like a broad sword, the handle reminding Shiro of a hook sword. The handle came down, the guard going down and forming half a square before connecting with the bottom. Instead of being straight, the guard formed dragon-like wings.

Right as Shiro finished taking him in, the boy's eyes opened. It was those eyes that had sent Shiro flying out of Ryu's mind. His eyes had been a luminous blue. It seems like the illumination had been caused by a gleam of pure evil, sending a chill down Shiro's spine. It was as the boy smiled that Shiro felt the chakra. The boy had fangs where his canines should have been, making him even more creepy.

The chakra that emitted from him was pure darkness. It was like nothing Shiro had even felt before. It seemed like the boy had become everything he feared the most incarnated.

If there was one thing he knew about Ryu, it was that he was going to have to find a way to make him give him what he wanted. Shiro smiled. The boy seemed close to Hana's niece, possibly having a childish crush on her. What he was going to do would not only satisfy him, but help him in his quest against the Leaf.

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

It took several minutes for Ryu to finally sit up, his breathing still a bit hard. He felt exhausted from how Shiro delved into his mind. He wasn't even sure how he kept up his mental shield.

"You okay?" Sakura asked, sounding more scared than Ryu liked.

Ryu forced a smile onto his face. "I'm fine," he replied. Despite what he said, he winced when he sat down against the wall. Hesitantly, the young pink haired girl scooted toward him so that there was only a little more than a yard between the two. Sighing, Ryu forced himself to relax, looking down at his left ring finger as he did.

Around his finger was a silver ring with a yin-yang symbol. Without much thought, Ryu reached down and started twisting it back and forth, the memory of the two boys and himself running through his mind.

"What's with the ring?" Sakura murmured.

Ryu glanced at Sakura through the corner of his eye before looking back down at the ring. "It's one of my few priced possessions. This ring belonged to my brother."

That seemed to spike Sakura's interest. "You had a brother?" she asked.

Ryu tensed, uneasy about the subject. "I actually had two," he said after about five minutes of silence. "They were both really great. Well, one was a bit cold, but he was really nice at times. The other one was always there for me, always smiling, always laughing…" Ryu's voice suddenly stopped working as he remembered his two siblings. It took him two minutes just to find his voice again. "The one who was really there for me gave me this ring."

Sakura had to be able to hear the sadness in his voice, because her voice was light and slightly hesitant as she asked, "What happened to them, Ryu?"

Ryu closed his eyes, clenching the ring on his finger, but didn't take it off. "They're dead." Even he could tell his voice was cold, the memory of the day coming back so strong he had to bite down on his lip to stop from crying. IHis/I laughter as Ihis/I blade came down, fighting his brother. His own brother's blood coating him like a blanket. Then he heard Ihis/I voice.

IJoin me, Ryu. Help me make this place a better world./I

"Shut up," Ryu growled, accidentally saying it out loud as he attempted to get Ihis/I voice out of his head. He could see Sakura giving him a concerned look, but he refused to look at her. He clenched his fist so tightly his fingernails bit into his palm's skin.

There was a long moment of silence. "Ryu, before I asked you why Shiro wanted you. Please tell me the truth. I want to know why he brought you here and who he is."

Ryu pursed his lips, looking away from Sakura. "I'm not really sure you want to know," he replied. When he turned to see the resolute gaze Sakura was giving him, he sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. But I'm telling you right now, you're not going to like it."

Sakura continued to stare, but she did hesitate slightly when she said, "Go ahead and tell me."

Ryu sighed, staring at his ring again. "Well, how about I start with Daichi?" Without waiting for Sakura to answer, he continued. "Once Daichi was an Anbu, but he betrayed the village for something as dumb as money. He attempted to kill the Hokage, but he was stopped when then Anbu came for him. At first they couldn't. You see, he's part of the Shigamo clan. They had the power to make the person they're fighting see the person they love the most. Not only that, but it influences the way they feel, making it so no matter how hard they tried to fight the thought, they'd think it was actually them."

"That's a scary technique," she remarked.

Ryu nodded, hating the way Shiro would just make her more scared. "Shiro, like Daichi, was in the Anbu. Prior to the interrogator we have now, he was the interrogator. The Hokage had to remove him from the position, though. He killed the people who tried to drag him out of an interrogation he was doing, and then he escaped. With the help of his girlfriend, the Anbu finally caught him."

"Why'd they have to remove him from the interrogator's position?" Sakura asked.

Ryu sighed. He'd been hoping she wouldn't notice he didn't tell her why. "Well, he was a bit… ruthless. He's part of the Yamanaka clan, so he could delve into people's mind to get the information he needed. If they'd block him, he'd use mental pain against them until they couldn't help but tell. Sometimes he'd do something else, though. Either that, or he'd push the person to their limits and still continue," Ryu said.

Sakura gulped. Ryu could tell she was imagining how bad mental pain could get. He still did whenever he thought of the monster known as Shiro.

"He would try to delve passed people's mental shields, breaking them with unimaginable pain. Sometimes in doing this, though, he'd…" Ryu closed his eyes, his hands balling into fists, grasping the fabric of his pants. "He'd destroy the mind of the prisoner. The prisoner's body became nothing more than an empty shell. With so much pain, the mind just shuts down, never turning back on. They'd be alive, though. They'd live their life, but they just couldn't do or feel anything. They'd just be there, nothing more."

Sakura stared in horror. "How could someone do that to a human being?" Then she flinched. "Wait, he was doing that to you!" she exclaimed. "He could have destroyed your mind!"

Ryu shook his head. "He wasn't trying very hard," Ryu said. "He's not going to risk it. He needs me."

"Why does he need you, though?"

Ryu gave up, deciding just to tell her. "Because of how close I am to the Hokage. He knows that I've got some information that he can't know. So instead of risking breaking into the files, he just took me."

Silence engulfed them, Sakura clearing needing time to process everything. Right when she was about to speak, someone else did.

"Time to eat." Daichi stood at the bars, two trays in his hand. He set one tray down, taking out a set of keys and unlocking the bars, picking up the other tray and walking in. Ryu was instantly on his feet and in front of Sakura.

"Back off," Ryu said, tensing. "Don't come any closer." He got into a fighting stance, glaring when Daichi laughed.

"You really think you can beat me, kid?" He crouched down, placing the trays on the ground. "You don't know your place here, do you?"

Ryu didn't reply. Instead he gazed at the trays. His eyes widened when he saw ramen and rice. The other had syrup covered anko dumplings and umebashi. Also on both trays was a cup of tea. Ramen and rice was his favorite food.

Sakura hungrily eyed the second tray with dumplings and umebashi. Was it possible they'd made both of their favorite food? But why?

Daichi straightened, sent them a smile, and then walked out, locking the bars behind him.

"Why'd they make us those?"

"Don't know," Ryu replied, creeping slowly toward to the food. He crouched down, grabbed the chop sticks, and stirred the food. He wondered if he should eat it. He thought about just ignoring it, but with food in his face, his stomach started to hurt with hunger. He looked back at Sakura. He'd told her that Shiro wouldn't kill him, and it was true. Would he be safe? His hunger getting the best of him, he started to eat.

Sakura crawled over, slowly eating her food as well. After he finished eating the food, he downed the tea. It was then that exhaustion swept over him. "Sakura, I think I need to lay down."

Sakura looked at him, finally nodding. "I guess getting some sleep would be nice. What happens if someone comes in, though?"

Ryu smiled. "I'll hear him. Nobody can sneak up on me while I'm asleep," he said. He yawned, wondering where the sudden tiredness came from. He went over to the corner, leaning back against it. Sakura crawled over, laying down beside of him. "Night, Sakura."

"Night, Ryu."

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

Sakura was woken up by the sound of the bars opening. She sat up, first looking at Ryu. He'd said he'd wake up if anyone came in. Her eyes narrowed when she saw he was fast asleep. Had he been lying about waking up to make her feel safer? For some reason, she doubted it. "Hey, Ryu, wake up," Sakura said, shaking Ryu harder than necessary.

"Won't work, kid," a male voice said.

Sakura looked forward to see Daichi standing in front of her. Unlike before, though, he had a linen bandage around his left arm, as if he'd gotten a cut recently. She tensed, pushing against the wall. "Stay away," she said, her voice so low she wondered if Daichi could hear her.

Daichi smiled, strolling toward her as if he had all the time in the world. "Sorry to tell you this, kid, but you're coming with me."

She gulped, pushing so hard against the rock wall behind her it dug into her back. "Ryu," she said, shaking him again.

He laughed, taking another step before leaping forward so he was right in front of her. "How about we hurry this up? Shiro's been patient for numerous years. I really don't want to make him wait too much more for one life time." Before Sakura could do anything, Daichi grasped the pink haired girl's arm and, without any gentleness, yanked her to her feet. Without waiting for her to get completely balanced, he started dragging her out of the cell, leading her into a cavern in the cave.

It was a bare cavern, the only thing in it consisting of a lantern and two beds. Shiro was in the cavern, leaning back against the wall. Sakura flinched when he opened his eyes, his own looking straight into her own.

"There you are, young Haruno," Shiro said, walking toward her. Daichi chuckled beside of Sakura before letting go of her arm and walking away. She wondered why they weren't afraid of her running. Then again, where was there to run.

"You know, I think I remember your name," Shiro suddenly said, making Sakura look forward. "You were supposed to go to Hana's house on that night six years ago. I remember threatening her about it when she wouldn't let me leave her house. I told her I'd kill you when you got there if she didn't let me leave."

"How…. how'd you know it was my aunt?" she murmured.

Shiro didn't answer. Instead he continued to examine Sakura. "You look so much like her, you know? You're hair color is the biggest difference."

Sakura took a few steps back, trying to put as much distance between her and the Yamanaka. Being anywhere close to him chilled her to the very soul, just proving how cold hearted he must be.

"It was your aunt's fault the Anbu caught me. She kept me stuck at her house so the Anbu had time to catch up."

Then it clicked how he knew her aunt. Her girlfriend had been her aunt! She felt her stomach churn at the thought. How could her amazing aunt date someone like Shiro? He was a monster with his mind jutsus. Her aunt was such a kind and gentle lady, except for when she had to do Anbu stuff. There was no way she'd love someone so evil. She could always tell when there was darkness in a person's heart.

"Even after I've killed her, I still don't feel completely satisfied," he said, shocking her out of her reverie.

"What?" Sakura blurted, not having time to think over what he said before the words exploded from her mouth.

Shiro smiled. "You heard me. I said I killed your aunt. She ran into me the other morning. Too bad the Anbu decided to send her after me. If they hadn't, she may still be alive right now," he said. Shiro strolled toward her, smiling when Sakura backed up until she hit a wall.

"I really hope she's watching right now."

Sakura was smart, so it only took her a second to comprehend what he meant. The next second he was at her, hand grasping her neck collar. He threw her up, and then he jumped up and did a back flip to kick Sakura in the back. She flew toward the other wall, shouting when she slammed into it.

She fell to the ground, hitting her side hard. The pink haired girl looked up at Shiro, understanding why he'd taken her. Shiro had taken her because he was taking his revenge to her aunt out on her. She looked up just in time for Shiro to kick her in the chin. The force was so great it forced him to his feet.

He grabbed Sakura's throat, slamming her against the wall behind her. He met her eyes, clenching her throat so tightly it almost cut off her lungs. "It must suck being Hana's niece right now," Shiro said, throwing Sakura at the ground. The impact knocked the breath from her.

When she saw Shiro, he was doing multiple hand signs. "Mind style!" he said. "Mind pain jutsu!" He reached forward, slamming his palm against her forehead.

Pain instantly exploded through her body. Sakura screamed, grabbing her head as the pain coursed through her veins. "Please," she begged, unable to stop herself from showing her weakness. Iruka would probably give her an F against putting up with torture for information. Then again, she didn't know if anyone could deal with this pain.

IRyu could./I The thought made her jerk. Even though Ryu was pretty close to ranked dead last in their class, she truly believed he could deal with the pain she felt right then. If it meant protecting people, he could take the pain.

Without releasing the jutsu, Shiro brought Sakura up by her forehead, resting her back against the wall. "Hope this hurts," he said, sounding so nonchalant it annoyed Sakura. The annoyance quickly disappeared, clouded by the pain caused by both the mind pain jutsu and Shiro suddenly slamming her head against the wall.

"Stop! Please, sto- AHHHH!" Sakura screamed as Shiro brought his knee up to collide with her chest.

"No way am I stopping now," Shiro said, his voice low and menacing. "Not until I make you feel as much pain as Hana put me through."

° ◊ ° ◊ ° ◊

IHey, Ryu, wake up./I Sakura's voice repeated over and over in Ryu's head.

He was trying, truly trying. So why couldn't he wake up. He could hear a muffled sound. Ryu couldn't make out what it was because of the fact he was more unconscious than conscious.

His dreams flashed from Sakura's face to the memory shown by Shiro. The image didn't move, but he heard the voices from then.

IWhy is it that you can never be serious?/I a voice asked.

IWhy is it that you can be nothing but serious?/I another voice countered.

ICut it out you two./I It was Ryu's own voice.

IIt's not my fault he won't chill out. I just joke around about wanting to fight and he punches me in the arm!/I the second voice said.

IDon't tempt me and I won't do it,/I the first voice said. INo sane person would think it was smart to attack those tigers./I

IWho ever said I was sane?/I Even as he spoke, the second person and Ryu were starting to laugh. Finally the other voice sighed and chuckled as well.

It was then the scream pierced through his dream. Ryu somehow knew it was Sakura's, but once again he could wake up. ICome on. Come on! COME ON!/I Ryu mentally yelled at himself. II have to wake up!/I

There was suddenly an amused laugh. It was a laugh that made a chill run through Ryu's soul.

IYou wanna wake up?/I

Ryu jerked off the wall, breathing hard as he was suddenly shocked out of his deep sleep. What the heck? His thoughts wondered to why, but he didn't have time to think. There was two things he knew. One, Sakura was gone, which meant Shiro had her. Two, he'd drugged him through the food. It was why they made what they each specifically liked.

Without thinking, Ryu was on the move, running for the bars that were slightly ajar. He shoved the gate open the rest of the way, Daichi, who stood outside, so surprised he got hit by those very bars. He ran in the only directions he could, taking in the cavern in a millisecond.

Sakura was leaning against a wall, cuts and bruises covering her body, letting him know Shiro had been hurting her for at least thirty minutes, probably more (A/N There's a skip in time of about thirty minutes between when Sakura's PoV ended and Ryu's PoV began). Shiro was a few feet away, holding a ball that struck horror into Ryu's soul. Crap.

He moved once again without thinking. Ryu dashed forward, getting between Sakura and the ball as Shiro threw it. He knew what it was, unlike Sakura. He braced himself as it collided with him, gas exploding from the ball. Ryu's eyes watered, caused by the gas. He knew what to expect, yet he wasn't even close to being prepared.

He saw everyone he cared about being killed before his eyes, Ihis/I laughter filling the air as Ihe/I killed them. It was his own nightmare come true. It was what the ball did. It released a type of gas that forced the target to see their greatest fear. Not only that, but it also caused the mind pain jutsu to activate, which was why Ryu was grabbing his head, trying to force himself not to scream. Not in front of Sakura. He wasn't going to scare her more than she already had to be.

"How'd he wake up," Shiro growled, obviously irritated. He sighed, steps filling the air as he walked toward Ryu. He felt Shiro put his hand on his shoulder, sending chakra into him to release the genjutsu. He was glaring down at him, and Ryu had no doubt if it was anyone else Shiro would use a full out mind pain jutsu for stopping him from hurting Sakura.

"I won't let you hurt her," Ryu gasped out. "I'll stop you."

Shiro laughed, amused by Ryu's courage. "How you going to do that, Sarutobi? You know just how powerful I am."

Ryu nodded, getting shakily to his feet. "Which is exactly why I know how to make you destroy my mind with you mind invasion jutsu," Ryu said.

Shiro's amused expression turned into a grim one in a split second. "You're that willing to save the girl?"

Ryu gave him a curt nod.

Shiro continued to meet Ryu's eyes for a few more moments, sighing after what seemed like eternity. "Daichi, take these two back to their cells. Heal the girl while your at it. We wouldn't want our guest to do anything stupid," he said, glaring pointedly at Ryu.

Daichi was suddenly at Ryu's side, jerking him toward the cell. After that he grabbed Sakura, more carrying her than dragging her to the cell. He shoved Ryu in, almost throwing Sakura to the ground. He healed most of her bad injuries, glancing at Ryu every once in a while.

"What that ball do to you, Ryu?" Sakura asked weakly after Daichi left.

Ryu stared at the bars, both him and Sakura sitting in the corner again. "My greatest fear," he replied, his voice low as he remembered watching the villagers of the leaf being slain by Ihim/I. "All that blood." Ryu hoped his voice was too low for Sakura to hear, which apparently it was since she didn't question him.

"You knew that, but you still jumped in the way?" Sakura seemed as shock as someone as tired as she had to be could get.

"I told you even if something bad happens, I'll be there to protect you. I'm not taking back that promise," Ryu said. He looked over at her when she didn't ask any questions, noticing the way she would force her eyes not to close. "Go to sleep, Sakura. I won't let them get you again. Trust me."

Sakura didn't say anything. Instead she slipped her hand into his, obviously wanting to know that he was there. For some reason, this seem to reassure her because she finally let her eyes close.

"I swear I'll do anything to protect you, Sakura," Ryu whispered to the sleeping girl. "No matter what that is."


	5. Destroyed

Trees flew passed as the Anbu ran through the forest, searching for the two escapees and their captives. They had to be somewhere, right? One of the Anbu, Kohaku, glanced around, the dog mask on his face doing nothing to obscure his sight. The Hokage had given them strict orders to stay alert. The Yamanaka was said to be kept at a distance and the other was said to be great at genjutsu. As long as they were prepared for unexpected things, he'd been told, they should be mostly fine. They just had to stay alert like the Anbu had always been trained to do.

The trees flew past, mere brown blurs they were moving so fast. The thuds of their feet on the trees blocked out any sounds of life in the forest. There was only the occasional noise, mostly of a bird. It was because Kohaku was in the lead he saw her first.

She was a woman with long, flowing brown hair the same chocolate brown as his, her kind, gentle green eyes staring at him. She wore a white and pink kimono that was loose on her frail figure.

He came to a halt, the others slightly behind him doing the same. Kohaku stared at the woman, his heart clenching. The last time he'd seen her, he'd said, IYou won't see me again until I've become a great ninja!/I, before running out the door. He'd only been fourteen at the time, planning on going to live with his grandpa so he could train undisturbed. Young and stupid, oblivious to the luxury he had. Not even realizing how important it was until it was yanked out from underneath him.

"Mom," he choked out. He'd been mad at her then. Angry because he'd failed the chunin exams, too tired to finish the first test after his mom kept him up all night to clean up the house. He hadn't heard another word from her after, IPlease, Kohaku, let me explain. Please./I It wasn't until after she died four months later he realized why she'd done it.

In a note left to him from his mother, knowing she was about to die and needing to tell him, she wrote that she'd done it on purpose. She'd done it because she didn't want her child to be a chunin when she could sense she was so close to dying. So, unwilling to tell her son something that would torture him, she'd tried to make it so he'd be able to stay home with her. So the last thing she'd know before she died was that her son loved her. He was all she had left. His grandpa was his dead father's father. Both his mom's parents were dead. And because of his own selfish desires, she'd died alone, having nobody with her when her time came. Despite all this, the end of the note claimed that she loved him more than anything in the world and that she wanted him to become the strongest ninja ever known.

"Kohaku," she said, her voice gentle and loving. She spread her arms out, an invitation that the masked Anbu instantly understood.

"I've become a strong ninja now, Mom." Anbu were trained to keep their emotions down and focus on the mission, but he let them hit him like a train, too happy to think of the fact his mother was dead. He stepped forward, jumping toward her. He was a branch away when someone grabbed his arm.

Chakra shot through him at the same time someone said, "Snap out of it, Kohaku. It's not whoever you see!" Other Anbu members were shouting similar things to him. The chakra broke the genjutsu he'd unknowingly been under. He jerked, trying to step back as he looked forward again. A man in ragged blue clothes stood before him, an evil gleam in his dark eyes. His scarlet hair flew back as he jumped forward, a kunai that had been in one of his hands flashing when the light hit it. It shot forward, Kohaku having no time to dodge.

Pain exploded within him. He felt like the pain lasted for hours when he knew it had only been a second or two before a crushing darkness swallowed him.

****

"You're going to have to give in sometime," Shiro said, resting against the rock wall outside Ryu's cell. Sakura was fast asleep beside of him, snoring softly. All the sleeping medicine she'd taken in was the culprit behind her heavy sleeping, as oblivious of the conversation taking place between the two males as she was of the sleeping drug.

Ryu knew exactly what Shiro meant. He meant give in to his body's needs. Not once had he slept, ate, or drank for the past two days, constantly finding a way to convince Sakura to eat his food and drink his water. It usually had to do with him being full, stating that the two escapees had already fed him while she slept. Lies, of course. But he couldn't let her know that. Just like he couldn't let her know the food and water was drugged. If she knew, there was a chance she wouldn't eat or drink as well. Sleep, he had no doubt, would be one adversary that would defeat her if she would decide to do the same thing he was doing.

He couldn't sleep, which meant he couldn't eat or drink. If he slept, there was a chance that Shiro would hurt Sakura again. He wasn't going to break his promise to her. He would protect her, no matter what that meant he had to do. Ryu also didn't want Shiro probing his mind for Leaf information while he slept, his defenses then nonexistent. The only way he'd have defense was to be awake.

"I won't," Ryu disagreed. More like, II can't./I That was what Ryu had constantly been telling himself. He couldn't fall to sleep. He couldn't give in. The citizens of the Leaf's lives depended on it. That and Sakura. He couldn't let her be harmed more than she already had. It was his fault, after all, that she was in this mess with him.

He looked away from Sakura and at the ring on his finger. Ryu drew power from it, the ring a reminder of the other promise he had to keep. What he hated was how many times he'd looked at the ring. Every time seemed to bring more and more memories to mind.

The cage, shaking as he was transported away. His mother, after all, wasn't allowed to know of the plan. He hadn't either until that night.

His captor's blood, covering a person who he loved. How could he be such a monster yet be his brother? Ryu had thought that, and he still thought that now.

The hot desert they crossed, somehow finding themselves in the Wind Country. How had they traveled so far? He was still stumped by that question. Apparently the thing pulling him away from home had been strong enough for him to run as fast as the others and get away from the person he'd always thought would protect them.

Ryu forced himself out of these memories, hating the way he was constantly having nightmares without even sleeping. He leaned against the wall, looking at Shiro again. It was as if the Yamanaka was trying to read his thoughts without even using his mind jutsu.

"All humans must," Shiro pointed out.

"I'm not like most humans."

Shiro raised an eyebrow, obviously puzzled by what the younger male said. But then something, fear perhaps, flashed through his eyes. Then it was gone. "No," he agreed. "No, you most certainly aren't."

A loud grinding sound filled the cave, making Ryu wince at the sound. He was slightly happy since he didn't want to take the chance of Shiro getting the pleasure of hearing his stomach's sudden growl. It was something that had only happened occasionally. He would be fine without food, even if his body cried out for it. What he was beginning to worry about was his aching, burning throat. He never showed the pain it caused. He couldn't. That was a sign of weakness. And at a time like that, weakness was not an option.

Ryu looked down at his ring, a sudden thought running through his head. All he had to do was take it off….. No, he couldn't. No matter how tempting it was, that was only something to use if his last resort didn't even work. And seeing how slowly killing himself to get Shiro to give in and give him some drugless food and water was his last resort, Ryu was starting to wonder if that time would come soon.

****

"Another team dead," Asuma Sarutobi told his father, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he mentally cursed. Already ten search teams were dead because of the escapees. All because of the Shigamo's mastery of his genjutsu. Asuma had occasionally wondered who he would see if he was put under the genjutsu, but he was one of the many who never wanted to find out, because if they fell under the man's genjutsu, death was sure to follow.

Hiruzen sighed, his back to the jonin as he stared out the window. "I can't believe this happened. I never thought Shiro would stoop low enough to take a child for information."

"You never know, Father. This boy could already be dead or has already given him information," Asuma pointed out. He stared at the elderly man, trying to remember a time he'd seen him so distressed. Hiruzen had often regarded the child known as Ryu as his grandson. Asuma didn't know him well. He'd only saw him on his occasionally visits to see his father. From what he knew, the child was nice and caring.

The hokage shook his head. "Trust me when I say he's not dead. It would take a lot more than just Shiro's mind jutsu to kill Ryu. You don't know him like I do."

"Then tell me so I know," Asuma insisted. "How could he do that would defeat two escapees that have killed ten search teams."

"I can't tell you." The two of them were silent, Hiruzen staring at the village while Asuma looked toward the forest, trying to picture the two little kids, held captive by the prisoners. The more he thought of it, the more he felt like he should be out there, searching for them. Just because Ryu was close to the Hokage, they were in danger. No kid deserved that.

A knock at the door broke the silence. Hiruzen turned to face the door, sighing as he said, "Come in." He pulled out his chair to sit on it, watching as a blond haired male came in.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Hokage."

"Yes, Inoichi," the Hokage said. "When you were younger, you were best friends with Shiro Yamanaka, correct?"

The Yamanaka nodded. "He was like my brother, but after him having advanced jutsu went to his head, I stopped being his friend. Does this have to do with the kidnapping of the young Haruno girl and your grandson?"

Did everyone consider Ryu Hiruzen's grandson? As Asuma considered this, he looked at Inoichi. His daughter was best friends with Sakura Haruno, so it was understandable that he'd know about the kidnapping. Thinking of the Haruno girl led to him wondering just how tortured her parents had to be, wondering every day if their daughter was okay. He'd heard his father tell her parents that Ryu would protect her. How could he have so much faith in a child?

"That is correct. We're trying to find his hiding places. I was wanting to know if you knew any spots nobody else knows of that you two would go to," the Hokage explained.

Inoichi's eyes narrowed in thought. He seemed to be searching his thoughts, having more trouble finding his own than he had finding other's. His green eyes lit up when he grasped a thought unknown to the two of them at the moment. "There was this cave we used to play in. Nobody could ever find it because there was a huge boulder in the way. The only reason we could get in was because there was a small hole only kids could fit in."

The two Sarutobis looked at each other. "You want me to get a team ready?" Asuma asked.

The hokage nodded. "You and Inoichi are two of them. Get Kakashi Hatake, too. His Sharingan may give you an advantage against Daichi's genjutsu," he instructed. "Two others you have in mind?"

"Could we bring along Shikaku and Chozen?" Inoichi asked, looking between Asuma and Hiruzen.

The hokage nodded. "That would be a good idea. If it came to a battle, your Ino-Shik-Cho formation may come in handy," the Hokage agreed.

"I shall go get our team," Inoichi said, walking out of the room.

Asuma looked back at his father, wondering if he'd ever looked as troubled as he did now when Asuma had left. He shifted the unlit cigarette in his mouth. He just wanted something to be in his mouth, even if he didn't feel like smoking it. "You truly believe this Ryu kid can protect both him and Sakura Haruno?"

Hiruzen looked up at Asuma, sighing before looking out the window again. It was as if the sight of the village he ruled helped comfort him. "I know he's only a child, but his will is to protect is as strong as many of the best shinobi I know."

****

"They're getting stronger," Daichi said, slipping into the cave. His clothes were torn more than before, a series of cuts on his skin. "They really don't want us to get our hands on any information that kid might have. Either that, or the Hokage really wants to save him."

Shiro shrugged, looking in the direction of the children's prison. It was similar to the one he'd been forced to stay in for at least a third of his life. A pang of pity made him consider at least giving the boy food, but he dismissed the thought, letting the cold, occasionally harsh personality he'd created for interrogations take over. "They could want to rescue him for both reasons." He sat down on his bed, watching as Daichi walked to his own bed and more or less fell onto it. "You don't understand what lengths people will go to just to protect ones they love."

"Well, that girlfriend of yours didn't try to hard to save you," Daichi pointed out. He laughed when Shiro gave him a murderous glare. After a moment, though, he turned onto his side, his companions glare causing the uneasy feeling it was meant for.

Shiro sighed, looking at the flickering shadows the lantern created on the walls. He kept on seeing the luminous blue eyes of the white haired boy. The Sarutobi child had said he wasn't like most humans. That was something he would never argue. What had the sight of the boy been? It wasn't a memory, so what was it?

He sighed in annoyance, running a hand through his blond hair. They didn't have much longer. They'd figure out where they were eventually or end up killing his partner. All they needed was some very good jonin. His genjutsu was hard to fight against, but if he was fighting enough people, he'd lose. The strength of his genjutsu grew weaker if he used it against more than one person. He also had to make eye contact first, a flaw that very few people knew about.

****

"We're getting close," Inoichi informed the team, looking around at the familiar forest. Asuma had been in it many times, but not once had he gone in the direction they were. It was just slightly to the east of the trail that led to the hot springs. There was no major things around it besides those very hot springs, and, according to Inoichi, it was concealed by many trees, the drop to get to the cave's entrance sudden and invisible unless someone already knew of it.

"Good. The longer we take, the bigger the chance those two kids die or Shiro Yamanaka gets the information Ryu Sarutobi has," Kakashi Hatake said.

"Why were the two children away from the group to begin with?" Chozen wondered aloud.

"According to Inoichi's daughter, Sakura Haruno was running from some bully and the boy went to comfort her," Shikaku explained.

After the Nara's explanation, the team of five traveled in silence. The sun was setting, the warmth of the day giving in to the cool that night brought with it. The sounds of the night's animals took the place of the afternoon creatures. Crickets could be heard among the loud hoots of owls, hidden by the shadows cast by the trees.

The stop of Kakashi was sudden, causing the others to stop. His visible eye became wide, staring at the figure that had halted their path. Daichi, he realized, seeing his prisoner clothes.

"Guys, it's Daichi Shigamo!" Asuma warned, reaching into his kunai pouch to pull out his chakra blades. He glanced at Shikaku, watching as his gaze flickered between his two old teammates. The two men nodded, going into action.

"Expansion jutsu!" Chozen cried, his arms growing larger. He jumped over Kakashi, the red haired man's gaze flickering to him. The moment that Daichi's eyes met Chozen's, the man froze, trembling as he stared at the escapee. He'd been caught under the genjutsu.

Asuma cursed. He'd expected it, though, and jumped forward. Asuma slashed downward with his kunai, but Daichi danced away, his eyes continually trying to meet his. When they couldn't, Daichi moved back more quickly. It was because he was trying to hard to meet Asuma's eyes, something the bearded man didn't understand, that he didn't notice the shadow coming after him until it captured his own, forcing him to jerk to a stop.

"You're up, Inoichi."

Before Inoichi could perform the mind transfer Asuma knew he was planning, Daichi suddenly smirked. "Sorry to tell you this, but your plan fails," he said. Asuma almost lost his balance on his tree branch when a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in front of him, a poof sound coming from it as the shadow clone vanished.

Asuma began searching the area, listening with his ears almost as well as he was looking with his eyes. They were dealing with an ex-Anbu member. He had to be cautious and alert.

The gleam of metal made Asuma look to his right. His arm reacted automatically while his eyes searched for their target, knocking the kunai off path. When his eyes did fine what they were looking for, he flinched. His father. Asuma was seeing his father, staring at him with proud eyes. He flinched when he felt something bite into his arm. Pain flared with him, making him look down.

Asuma cursed at his own idiocy. He'd relaxed his arm, letting it fall to his side without thinking of the sharp chakra blade he was holding. Asuma winced as he dug it out of his flesh, but he soon found out it wasn't as bad as he'd thought. When he looked back at the spot his father had been, he saw the scarlet haired man instead of his father. The genjutsu, Asuma realized. He'd been put under it.

Daichi's eyes narrowed in annoyance, going up to once again meet Asuma's eyes. Why did he continually do that. Unless… "Guys, don't look at his eyes. That's how he casts the genjutsu."

"Observant pest, aren't you?" Daichi grumbled, bringing his hand together to perform who-knows-what. Before he could, though, he let out a sudden scream, pitching forward and falling to his hands and knees. Something dark was spreading across the blue of his prisoner outfit. It took Asuma a moment to figure out it was blood.

"You've lost your Anbu skills while in jail," Kakashi commented, standing behind the now injured man.

"How?" Daichi hissed. "I know I put you under the genjutsu. You were just standing over there." It was then Daichi looked at the spot, getting ready to gesture to it. His eyes widened when he saw Kakashi still standing there, a blank look in his eyes.

"You aren't the only one who can make shadow clones. Like Shikaku thought, you're too cocky after beating so many teams. You've never fought us, though," Kakashi remarked. There was another poof as his clone disappeared. The silver haired jonin stood behind Daichi, a bloody kunai in his hand. He seemed relax, staring at the doubled over man. He scrambled away from Kakashi, glaring at him.

It was all going according to plan. Shikaku, despite his lazy exterior, was pretty smart. He'd only been able to come up with two scenarios, but they had been the two things that would have happened. One was that it was the actual Daichi fighting them head to head. If that was so, they would have succeeded with the mind transfer jutsu and have Daichi/Inoichi take the children from Shiro in the cave. If not, they'd had Kakashi have a shadow clone lead them instead of the real Kakashi, who was hidden in the shadows, waiting. Then he'd kill the Shigamo and they'd all take out Shiro.

Daichi cursed, dragging himself away from Kakashi. He reached down to grab him, the scarlet haired man struggling in the other male's grip. He kicked, one of them landing on his chest. Kakashi winced, turning on his heel and slamming Daichi against the tree. There was a poof, and then Daichi was gone, a log in his place.

"Sneaky guy, isn't he?" Kakashi observed.

"He'll be heading back to the cave since he's injured. Daichi knows medic ninjutsu, but there's no saying we wouldn't catch him before he healed," Shikaku told them, walking up to Chozen. He placed his hand on his old teammate, snapping him out of the genjutsu. The heavyset man blinked, dazed after suddenly returning to reality.

"Come on. We'd better hurry now that they know how close we are," Asuma said, running to get to the cave.

****

Ryu had almost fallen asleep, so the sudden slam of the cave made him jerk into consciousness again. He mentally chided himself for almost slipping into sleep. He got to his feet and began to pace. He had to stay active. If he just continued to sit and wait, he was sure he'd finally fall asleep.

"What do you mean you couldn't stop them?" Shiro shouted so suddenly that Ryu jumped. He rushed over to the bar door, looking out to look at the two ex-Anbu. Shiro was standing with his back to Ryu, but he could still tell he was fuming.

Daichi was reaching for his back with both his hands, trying to do something Ryu didn't know about. He realized he was injured when he saw the small pool of blood behind him. Could he be injured?

"It just happened to be your best friend's team, Shiro. You know, people you know are really starting to annoy me," Daichi said, wincing as he sat down against the wall. Yes, he was definitely injured.

"How far were they?" Shiro demanded, his hands clenching.

"They should be here in about ten minutes, maybe less," Daichi responded, refusing to meet the other man's eyes.

"What's going on?"

Ryu jumped at Sakura's voice. Sheesh, he was really jumpy. "Shiro and Daichi was just talking," he said. His eyes narrowed as what they said suddenly clicked. The people who were close had to be a Konoha search team. That had to be it. Which meant in ten minutes, they'd be saved! He glanced at Sakura to tell her this, but then the gate suddenly flew open. He found out he really hated his scarf when he was yanked back, gagging as it choked him. He was tossed to the ground, Sakura quickly following him with a scream.

"Hey! What was that for?" Ryu demanded, getting to his feet and stepping between Shiro and Sakura.

"There's been a change of plans. We're not going to wait any longer. You're going to give me the information I want or else," Shiro growled.

"Or else what?" he retorted.

Shiro moved so fast his leg blurred. It slammed against Ryu's side, sending him flying to the left and into a wall. He screamed, crumpling to the ground. His side and back throbbed painfully. A feminine scream drew Ryu's attention away from his own pain and to Sakura. Shiro had his hand tangled in her hair, dragging her away so that there was a few yards between him and the two beings.

"Let me search your mind for what I want to know or this girl dies," Shiro threatened. "With all the trouble you're putting me through, I'm starting to think it's worth risking getting the documents."

Ryu tensed. He was right. Even if he did kill both of them, then he could escape and go get the documents. He'd never thought of that. He simply thought of keeping them both alive by threatening his own life.

II could help you save her./I

Ryu closed his eyes, trying to not focus on the temptation that suddenly flowed through him. He couldn't fall for the being's tricks. He just had to think of another way. He could risk doing Ithat/I.

That last resort….. Was he going to have to do it? Would he have to risk it? No, there had to be another way. Maybe he could beat him. Yeah, that was all he had to do. Keep him from killing either of them until the search team came. Or just not keep them there long enough that they couldn't escape.

Ryu gulped, knowing there was no other way. He ran forward, bringing his hands together to perform a jutsu. Before he could though, he tripped over his feet and he hit the ground knees first. He felt like all his energy was gone.

It was because he hadn't eaten or drank anything for two days. Ryu, despite his young age, had to bite back a curse that he'd heard his older brothers say a few times. At a time like that, though, it was kind of hard not to. He'd done it to protect Sakura, but now it seemed like it was what was going to get them killed.

"Leave her alone! This is between me and you," Ryu tried, doubting it would work. He got to his feet, flinching when a kunai was flung at him. He ducked, the kunai missing him by inches.

"Answer me," Shiro said, his voice low and menacing. "Are you going to let her die or are you going to let me look in that little mind of yours?"

Ryu tried to figure something out. There was only one thing he could think of that he could do. He sighed, nodding. "Just don't hurt her," he said, more dragging his feet than actually walking.

Shiro smirked. "I knew you were smart," he said, shoving Sakura so suddenly to the right that she stumbled and went down. He reached out to grab the younger boy's head. Ryu braced himself, waiting until Shiro's hand was right above his hand to send all his chakra into his left hand. He brought it back and hit him, the unprepared man shouting in both surprise and pain before stumbling back. He tripped over his own feet, making him fall to the ground.

Ryu swirled around, running to Sakura. He saw Daichi begin to get to his feet, but more injured then he'd let on, the moment he started running, he came to a stop, blood dripping from his back. "I thought I'd closed it," he grumbled.

He grabbed the pink haired girl's wrist when he got to her, forcing her to her feet. "Come on," Ryu said, running toward the back wall to put some distance between the two escapees and the two kids.

"I'm scared," Sakura sobbed, her shoulders shaking as tears she didn't even bother trying to hold back flowed from her eyes. "Ryu, what are we going to do? He's going to kill either me, you, or both of us."

"Stop crying, Sakura. I promised I wouldn't let them hurt you. I'm not going to take that back." He wanted to let go of himself right then, completely escape the world. That was one problem he had. When his life got tough, something that happened a lot more to him than it did some adults, he just wanted to slip out of his mind, escape into a strange, peaceful world he'd occasionally dream of. Just lose himself in the memories of those dreams. Or, if he was desperate to make what was going on not seem as bad, he'd think back to the past that plagued him with nightmares.

"I can't." Sakura looked back at the Yamanaka as he got to his feet. "Ryu, he's going to kill us."

Ryu looked between the pink haired girl and Shiro. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see a way to prove Sakura wrong. It was nearly impossible for the two of them to stay alive the eight, maybe seven, minutes left before the rescue team arrived. They were just two kids, and Shiro could no doubt kill them in at least four minutes and escape before the team got to them. If Shiro were to kill Sakura first, that would only quicken the killing process since he wouldn't be mentally strong enough to fight against the mind invasion jutsu. Her death would be too much for the young boy. He'd experience the mental pain death caused once, but that was still enough for him to know much it could hurt. He hadn't meant to, but he'd grown almost as attached to the Haruno as he had Naruto. Possibly even more, though he doubted it. Before he'd only had a child's crush on her, but now he'd actually gotten to know her.

Ryu's gaze drifted to his ring. His last resort had failed, so…

IPromise me you'll do whatever it takes to protect the ones you care about./I

With that past promise echoing in his mind, his resolve strengthened. It was the only way to save both Sakura and everyone in the Leaf.

****

"Sakura, I'm going to need you to do me a favor."

Ryu's voice made Sakura force herself out of the shell she'd put herself in, trying to defend herself against the crushing fear that felt close to suffocating her. What had he asked? Favor, she remembered. He needed a favor. She felt like everything was distant, but Ryu suddenly shaking her forced herself into herself.

"Listen to me, Sakura. We don't have much time," Ryu said. "I need you to do me a favor. Can you do it for me?"

Sakura felt her head nod.

"Good. I'm going to need you to hold my ring for me, got it?" He held up his hand, obviously knowing how scared she was and how she'd drawn herself into an inner shell in an attempt to not be crushed by the fear. Ryu put the ring in front of her face, helping her to understand what should be obvious. With her fear clouding her mind, though, she was unable to comprehend the stuff as easily as she would before. "Then I'm going to make sure Shiro won't hurt you. As soon as I tell you, you're going to have to put my ring on. IRight as I tell you./I Understand?"

She nodded again.

"Good. I need you to understand, I wouldn't do this unless absolutely necessary. I just need you to know that." To Sakura's surprise, something about what was going on had made fear, something he hadn't even shown the past few days despite everything, raise to the surface of his pale eyes.

"Okay," she croaked out.

Ryu continued to look at her before slowly reaching for his left hand. He took in a deep, shuddering breath before ever so slowly slipping it off. He closed his eyes, his entire body becoming tense as his now shaking hand placed the yin-yang ring in Sakura's hands.

It was then he opened his eyes. Sakura only saw them for a millisecond before he turned to face Shiro, but they remained burned into her brain. They had become a luminous blue with slits in them. The way they were illuminated was what had made them remain burned in her mind. It was as if there was a dark light shining in them.

"I promised Sakura that I'd protect her," Ryu said as he began to turn. When his eyes met Shiro's, he flinched. Just as Ryu's fear had been a first, Shiro's sudden fear was sudden and unexpected.

Ryu's arms began to move, and even though Sakura couldn't see what he was doing, she had no doubt he was weaving hand signs that led to jutsus. What jutsus could he know that would stop someone like Shiro?

"Shiro?" Daichi said, looking at the other man as he took a step back, frozen. He didn't make a move toward him, though, instead using green chakra that seemed to heal a huge gash on his back.

"No," he murmured. "It can't be." Then a strange determination settle within his green eyes. He ran forward, his hand shooting forward as he prepared to grab Ryu's head.

"Ryu!" Sakura shouted in a type of warning.

"Cursed style!" Ryu's voice was strange. It was still his voice, but it was as if there was another voice layered on top of it. It was a dark voice, seeming to have a sick laughter to it. It was a way Sakura expected a crazy serial killer speaking before killing someone. "Lightning tornado jutsu!"

Shiro was only a foot away from Ryu when it happened. There was a loud bang like thunder that shook the entire cave, Sakura nearly losing her balance. Shiro stumbled, backing away as he, being the one moving, lost his balance and nearly fell. Before he could, though, from around the center of Ryu shot a black thing that engulfed Shiro, a crackling coming from it.

A tornado created by lightning.

Shiro's scream pierced the air, seeming to echo off the walls and invade Sakura's ears, scraping against her brain. She raised her hands to cover her ears, unable to stand the two things she heard next. Hearing a sick sound of skin ripping from skin was worse than Shiro's scream, refusing to not be heard. What Sakura found worse, though, was Ryu's laughter. It reached into her and stabbed her like a knife. Ryu was laughing because of what he was doing. No, it didn't even sound like Ryu's laugh. It was more like that twisted voice was laughing. But how? It was Ryu she was looking at, right?

When the sound finally stopped, Sakura found that she was shaking, tears sliding down her cheeks. Shiro's limp body, somehow still intact despite the ripping sound Sakura had heard, falling to the ground. Daichi stared, his gaze flickering from Ryu as he dropped to his knees and his now dead companion. No longer caring about his injury, Daichi made a mad dash for the boulder, throwing it out of the way. He didn't even bother to close it before running at full speed out of there.

After a few moments of silence, Sakura heard Ryu croak out, "Sakura, the ring."

She almost hesitated, but Ryu's words from earlier made a reappearance. She scrambled over to him. He was shaking worse than she was, great pain within his eyes. She handed him the ring, watching as the blue faded from his eyes, his usual pale eyes returning.

"Ryu," she said, staring at him. It was then that she heard the footsteps. Acting instinctively, she got between Ryu and whoever it was who had suddenly appeared.

****

The rocks that Inoichi had told them about were gone. There was, however, a huge boulder forced to the side. Within the cave was two beds and a lantern, bright enough that the jonin could see the two children. Well, they could only see one since the girl with the pink hair had suddenly stepped in front of the other. Her eyes ran over the men a few times before suddenly flying back to Inoichi.

"Mr. Yamanaka!" she exclaimed. The girl ran forward, running passed Asuma and flying into the blond man's arms. He doubted the girl was particularly close to Inoichi, but just the familiar face after a few days of captivation had been enough to send her flying to the man. He didn't protest when he let her run into his arms. If she'd run to Asuma, he was sure he'd do the same. The girl was only ten and had been kidnapped by one of the interrogators that cared the least about human life.

Asuma, finally seeing the other kid, walked forward. He recognized Ryu easily. Not many people outside the Hyuuga clan had the pale eyes he did, and none of the Hyuuga had black hair with some white spikes in it. Nor did they wear the stupid scarf in the middle of summer.

"Hey, Ryu, you okay?" Asuma was sure that Ryu would remember him - according to Hiruzen, he was good at remembering faces - so he felt like he was the one who should check on the boy. If anything, he expected to see either recognition or confusion in the boy's eyes. He never expected what he saw.

He didn't know how to describe it. It just looked so wrong in the eyes of a ten year old boy. It was like his eyes were rivers and underneath the pale water was pain. But on the surface there was something far worse than the great pain underneath. The dead look that he had never saw on anyone living. There was only one word that came to mind as he stared into his eyes - destroyed.

"I could feel his skin ripping off, you know," Ryu whispered. "It felt as if I was using my own hands to do it instead of the jutsu." He was trembling worse than when Asuma had first gotten him, his hands digging into the dirt under him. "I felt like my hands were digging into his skin, tearing him up just so he could be put together again and then have me do it all over again." Ryu finally met his eyes. When Asuma had looked at his eyes before, it had been as if his body had been an empty shell, but now that was slightly gone. "The worst part," he said, the tears finally spilling from his eyes, "is that I loved hearing his screams. I took joy in knowing I was the one causing it."

Asuma felt as if his heart was being wrenched open as he watched the boy, so young yet knowing pain that even he didn't know, double over, his hands wrapping around his body as if they were the only thing holding him together.

Asuma looked around the cave, his eyes resting on the dead body of Shiro. Now that he looked at him, he could see the scars that now covered him from head to toe. What was going on?

Instead of asking the child, he decided he had to get him as far away from the cave as possible. Maybe at least then he'd feel slightly better. He couldn't stand seeing him like he was, sobbing so hard his body trembled so hard you'd think there was an earthquake going on within him. He scooped Ryu into his arms, turning to face the others. They took one look at the boy and both pity and sadness filled their gazes.

Asuma walked over to the others, trying to make sure the girl, Sakura, couldn't see Ryu despite her attempts to. "Inoichi, would you mind carrying her?" he asked.

"Not at all," Inoichi replied. "Try to go to sleep, Sakura. We'll have you at the village in no time."

"First of all, what happened to Daichi?" Shikaku asked, peering around as if he expected him to jump from the bushes.

"Ryu scared him away," Sakura whispered, slight fear in her voice.

Asuma looked at her for a second before back at the destroyed boy, wondering what could have happened in that cave to cause the girl to fear Ryu when he seemed so fragile Asuma was afraid he'd shatter like glass soon. He looked away, unable to look at the boy without feeling like crying himself. "Come on. We need to get them home."

**One Day Later**

Asuma walked through the Hokage's Building halls, passing a few doors, none of which lead to the room he was heading to. When he finally got to the right door and walked in, he caught the end of a conversation between his father and Inoichi.

"Thank you, Inoichi, for getting rid of the girl's memories of the night in the cave," Hiruzen said. "And like I said, don't think into what happened. It's best that way."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Inoichi said, bowing to the elderly man before walking out. Asuma stepped into the room and out of the doorway, allowing Inoichi a clear path through the door.

"I know what you're going to ask, and I'm going to tell you the same thing I did Inoichi, Asuma. Don't think too much about it. What happened in the cave is not something you need to concern yourself with."

Asuma looked at his father, knowing he knew exactly what he wanted to know. What he needed to know. The look he'd seen within Ryu's eyes had had such a strong effect on Asuma he'd even had a nightmare that night about them. Unable to escape that destroyed look, seeming to destroy his soul along with the boy.

"He's just a gentle boy, Asuma. The fact that he caused Shiro's death simply bothered him," the Hokage said, once again speaking without needing Asuma to voice his thoughts.

"Then why's he trying to become a ninja?" Asuma countered.

Hiruzen sighed, looking out over the village once again. His earlier thought of it being what comforted the elderly man returned. "I asked him that myself once. It had been when he first told me he wanted to be a ninja," the Hokage said. "He told me it wasn't that he wouldn't kill anyone. He would if he had to. But that's just it. He'd kill them Iif he had to/I. What he hates if for anything unnecessary to happen. He believed the death of Shiro wasn't something needed. He knew you were coming and that he just needed to buy time. He went farther, though, killing him."

Asuma looked down, those eyes once again coming forward in his mind. "Do you know what he told me?" Asuma asked, his fists clenching at his sides. "He told me that he could feel himself tearing Shiro to pieces. He said he'd be restored just to be ripped apart again. The Haruno girl said that she could hear the sound of skin tearing, meaning that he was telling the truth. Tell me, Father, how that could happen? According to Sakura, he was using a jutsu that kept distance between the two of them. He went through torture that even jonin couldn't handle. Tell me why."

"Asuma, I can't. I made a promise."

"Dang it, Father. You have to!" Asuma shouted. "Everyone else only saw him crying. II was the first to see him./I The others didn't see what he looked like at first. Nobody else saw how dead he looked. Nobody else saw that destroyed look I did in a child who is only ten!"

Hiruzen turned from the village to his son, a sad look on his face. "I can only imagine it, and it still seems bad. I promised him, though, Asuma. I don't want to give him a reason not to trust me."

"Please, Dad. I need to know…"

"Why?" Hiruzen pressed. "Why would you need to."

Asuma said the thing that he'd come up with after a day's worth of thought. It had been eating at him for a long time why he felt like he had to know. And he'd finally came up with a reason. "Because I want to know how to prevent it from happening again."

Hiruzen smiled, the sadness still in his eyes. "I think that is the only thing you could have said that would convince me to tell you, Asuma," the Hokage admitted. "Very well, then. I shall tell you. The past of Ryu Zenjin is not that of what you'd expect."


	6. Pieces

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Pieces - that song belongs to Red.**

**_I'm here again, a thousand miles away from you_  
><em>A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am<em>  
><em>I tried so hard, thought I could do this on my own<em>  
><em>I've lost so much along the way<em>**

**_Then I'll see your face, I know I'm finally yours_  
><em>I find everything I thought I lost before<em>  
><em>You call my name, I come to you in pieces<em>  
><em>So you can make me whole<em>**

**I think the lyrics describe exactly why I used this as the chapter name. If not, at least it makes sense to me =P.**

**Yeah, well, I don't know about you guys, but I think that this was a sucky chapter compared to the others and got worse as it went along. It seemed so much better in my head. This is the last chapter before the genin years. Sorry for the short amount of them being kid chapters. **

**Oh, and just to clear something up really quick. I don't know if many were confused, but Sakura's the only one whose memories were messed with, and they were just altered. They made it seem as if Ryu held Shiro off until the jonin got there rather than her seeing him kill Shiro.**

**Okay, well, I'm not sure if I should be saying I hope you enjoy or I hope you don't throw rotten tomatoes at me, but here's the chapter.**

"How's he doing?" Hiruzen asked.

Asuma stood in front of his father's desk, his hands stuffed in his pockets. It had been a week since he'd last had a meeting with his father. A week since he'd learned about Ryu. A week since he'd started watching the boy from the shadows, not wanting him to know how he and the Hokage were worrying about him so strongly.

"You know how he was so distant before? How he would only hang out with Naruto and kept up barriers?" When Hiruzen nodded, he continued. "He's worse now. Naruto can't even get in. Ryu is around people all the time, but when you look at him, you would think he was in an empty village. Nobody but him."

The elderly man looked down at the desk, a sad look in his dark eyes. "And he locks himself in his room after school, correct?"

He nodded. "It's strange. The only way I can compare looking at him is by saying its like watching the living dead." Asuma searched his mind, trying to figure out what he'd thought while he'd watched Ryu. "He reacts slower to new things, so I think he's more doing what his body knows. He's trapped himself in his mind."

Hiruzen raised his gaze to look at Asuma. "You've seemed to have taken an interest in Ryu to think so deeply into this," he noted. "I've never heard you sound so intelligent about these kind of things. Nor this observant."

What the Hokage said was true - Asuma usually didn't get so involved. He wasn't even sure what drove him to help the young boy so much. The only thing he could come up with was that dead look. When he wondered why, that was what he saw. He couldn't even sleep because of it about half the week. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop wanting to rid that dead look from Ryu.

In the end, Asuma just shrugged. "You asked me to keep an eye on him, so I am," he said.

"That is true," Hiruzen admitted There was a short silence between the two males, both of them waiting for the other to say something. It ended up being the Hokage who broke that silence. "Now there's one more thing I want to ask you to do, Asuma."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" Even as he asked it, he could guess what it was.

"I want you to do me a favor next time you watch him," his father said. "Have you ever really looked at his eyes?"

Asuma was caught off guard. It was nothing like he had expected. He had expected him to ask him to approach the boy or something similar. "No, not really. I've never got the chance to get a good look. His head's down a lot of the time or facing the wall. The only time I do it's not that great a look."

"What do you see?"

"I told you. He looks dead."

Hiruzen sighed, obviously disappointed. Asuma felt a bit of annoyance at himself, knowing he'd disappointed his father, but he pushed it away. He may have hated it, but he'd grown used to it. "Next time you see him, Asuma, I'd like you to look deeper. Either that or ask him to come to me," the Hokage instructed. "I want to know something."

Asuma still wondered what in the world his father was wanting to know, but instead of asking, he nodded. "I'll try my best to look at his eyes and find whatever it is you want to know, but if I can't find it, I'll send him to you," he said.

****

Ryu stared down at his red hands, trembling as he looked back up. He saw Shiro standing there, rips slowly repairing themselves along his body. Rips that he had created with his own hands. Then Ryu reached forward and grasped his arm.

"Please! Please, stop," Shiro begged, throwing his head back and screaming when Ryu started pulling the arm off.

"He wants to die," a voice whispered in Ryu's ear. "Then give him death."

Against his will, Ryu brought his arm back, something materializing between his hands. He thrust both arms forward, the hands almost so close they could be mistaken for being together. As they did, something formed from them - a short sword. Its blade pierced through him, going all the way through his chest. Shiro tensed, his eyes clouded by pain. But then something changed. He became someone else. Someone completely different. "No!" Ryu screamed-"

And jerked up into a sitting position. Tears were streaming from his eyes, a pain building within his chest. He thought it would explode within him, tearing him apart from the inside out. "No," he murmured. Ryu closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the images that now bombarded him. He clenched the sheets around him, his body trembling just as his hands had in the dream.

He hated it, but he replaced the memories that were coming forth with different, yet not as scarring, memories. He thought back to a little more than a week ago. The memories were no better, but they didn't hurt as much. "I'm sorry," he murmured, but to which person he spoke to, he wasn't sure. As the more recent memories replaced the older ones, the pain began to dwindle, though it never completely left him. He didn't think the pain could ever leave him completely. It just made itself better known.

The ten year old curled into a ball and laid back down, knowing that it wasn't time for school since it was still dark out the window. It wasn't until the sun first started peaking over the horizon that he arose from his bed. _Walls,_ Ryu reminded himself as the pain began to creep over his body. It was a method that only worked with the recent pain, the pain from before completely destroying the walls. _Put up the walls._ It wasn't the best way of dealing with the pain, but it was how he dealt with it. He just blocked out everything. He trapped himself within. Ever since the last day in the cave, he'd felt like all the happy parts of his mind had disappeared. Lately all he could feel was pain. All he could think about was what he had done. All he could do was what felt normal. Otherwise he'd be crushed. Otherwise he'd give in just to get away from the pain.

He lay there, staring at the wall, pushing down the pain and all his other feelings. Like every time he woke up, Ryu tried to bring forth happy memories. The moment he tried to get any memory, though, he'd feel himself ripping Shiro apart. It was best to just forget completely.

When a soft light began to fill Ryu's room, he forced himself to rise. Feeling more like a robot than a human being, he went through his usual morning routine. The emptiness of the apartment was something that Ryu was grateful for. Most would find it agonizing since there was nothing to distract him, but instead it helped him remain calm. The simplest of things could rise strong, recent memories. Just the sound of a door opening and closing made him think of the boulder when Daichi had come and gone. Seeing food brought him back to his internal war with the body's needs. He had to fight the pain the most then because he had to eat. The first day he'd avoided it because of what it brought with it.

Ryu stared out the window, feeling slight comfort in the sight. Konoha was beautiful during sunrise and sunset, when the faint gold glow bathed the village in its gorgeous light. He didn't understand the comfort, but it slightly decreased the pain. There was only one other thing that could do that, but he rarely ever saw her. He even tried to avoid her. It was his fault that she had been kidnapped. If she had never known him, she never would have had to go through the same torturous experience he had.

The image of the pinkette flashed through Ryu's mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the sadness drag down on him again. He reached toward his ring, twirling it around his finger. Drawing strength from it was something he'd had to do a lot lately, but it was becoming harder to prevent drawing strength from it from bringing forward past pain.

He placed his head against the window, feeling his shoulders shake as tears overcome him. He had to let the tears out then and there. Ryu refused to do so when he was around other people. His chest ached painfully, feeling a greater pain than anything any human could inflict on him. He doubled over, sobbing as he let out the pain. He'd held it in for the past couple of days, but at times t would slightly show. Now, however, he was releasing it all before it found a way out during the Academy. And Ryu continued crying until the time came to go to that very place.

****

"What are you looking for?" Ino asked after watching Sakura look around the room for the tenth time.

Sakura turned to the blond, her worry obvious in her eyes. "Ryu isn't here." She bit her lip as she glanced at the door again, wondering who would be next to walk through the door - Iruka or Ryu?

Ino's eyes softened greatly, a gentleness replacing her usual fierceness as they came upon that touchy subject. "I'm sure he's fine, Sakura."

As if on cue, the door opened. Both the girls looked back, and Sakura felt her heart drop as she got her first good view of Ryu since their return. He had always been there before she arrived, facing away and sitting with people around him so that she couldn't sit by him. It was because of this she got her first good look of him that day.

"Ryu," she murmured. His outside appearance hadn't changed at all. It was the eyes that drove her crazy. He didn't seem at all like himself. In fact, he seemed like he was a mere piece of himself, missing the piece that held all light and pure emotions. Instead all she saw was pain clouded over with nothingness. And that was just the surface. What could he be feeling deeper down?

The black haired boy walked to an empty seat, his eyes falling to the ground. When he sat down, he put his head down, almost like he was trying to block out the world.

Sakura remembered the first few days when they'd returned to the villagers. They'd had her talk to some consolers (she had to go to them every Monday and Thursday until they deemed her alright), which had helped a lot. She remembered seeing two try to talk to him, but they never got a single word out of him.

After a few minutes with Iruka not walking it, Sakura got up and began walking toward Ryu. Before she could, though, someone walked down the steps that she wasn't familiar with. He had spiky black hair and a beard, a blue Leaf headband, and a chunin/jonin outfit.

"Sorry," the man said, taking a step back when he almost ran into Sakura. He paused, examining her. He gave her a sad smile. "Hello again, Sakura Haruno."

Sakura was surprised that she knew her name, but after a few more seconds of looking at his face, she concluded that she did know him from somewhere. His brown eyes peered down into her emerald ones, momentarily searching for something before glancing around.

"So, this is Iruka's class, correct?" he asked. "I'm Asuma and will be taking his place today because he's sick today."

Asuma! As he announced his name, she remembered where she'd seen his face. He'd been apart of the team who had gone to save them. It was Asuma who had carried Ryu back from the terrible place.

"Well?" Asuma asked, looking around when nobody told him whether or not this was Iruka's class. Then his eyes fell on Ryu. "Never mind." He stared at Ryu for a moment longer, and for a moment, the Sarutobi boy looked like he was about to sit up. After a moment, though, he simply leaned against his arms again, refusing to look at the world to even discover who was looking at him. "Would you mind taking your seat, Miss Haruno?" the bearded man asked, regaining Sakura's attention.

"Yes, Asuma-sensei. Sorry." Sakura hurried back to her spot, Ino trying to contain her giggles from the fact that Sakura had just been in the middle of all that. Ino insisted that all eyes had been on them, but for the first time ever, Sakura hadn't noticed.

And also for the first time, Sakura couldn't pay any attention to class, which was one thing that could usually take her mind off the rest of the world. Instead she was too focused on the fact that Asuma was continually looking at Ryu at every single move, as if just waiting for him to get up. Before Sakura knew it, Asuma was announcing their break time, something the other kids smiled at since whatever they were talking about must have bored them.

Asuma glanced at Ryu, and for a moment, Sakura thought he was going to walk toward him, but then he turned abruptly and walked toward her. He made his way to her desk, glancing at Sakura when he noticed she'd been watching him.

"How're you doing, Sakura?" Asuma asked, leaning against the desk on the other side of the aisle. The kid who had previously been sitting there had moved to speak to another friend, meaning nobody was there to stop him from doing so.

Sakura smiled sadly, knowing just what he meant when he asked that. "I'm doing fine." The ten year old girl spoke the truth. She was slowly but surely healing within, both her family and friends helping her get through the terrible event. Sakura hadn't been the only one greatly affected by the event, though. She glanced back, her eyes widening when she saw that Ryu had sat up. He was fiddling with something in his left hand, staring at it and nothing else. "I think it's Ryu who's having a hard time with all this. Out of the two of us, he went through a lot more than I did. Those mind jutsus couldn't have been easy on him, and he also denied himself sleep, food, and water."

Asuma sighed. "Yeah, Ryu sure is having a hard time." He pursed his lips, trying to figure something out. "Has he tried to talk to you at all?"

The pinkette shook her head in answer. "It's almost as if he's staying away from me." She watched the boy sadly. "The best look I've gotten of him was today and I don't really think it was a good look at all."

"Have you tried to approach him?"

Once again she answered with a shake of her head. "I've thought of it, but I was told to give him some space by my consolers." It was the truth. She'd wanted to go to him the very first day, but the consolers had stopped her immediately and advised her against it. Now she watched the fragment of the Ryu she'd grown to know from a distance, wondering if there was any way to help.

"So you haven't gotten a very good look at his eyes?" Asuma asked, sounding disappointed.

Sakura was beginning to wonder just why Asuma was so curious, but she never got the chance to ask. Instead the man walked down the steps and to the other side of the room.

****

Asuma stood before his father's door, his hand raised to knock on it. Before he could, though, a familiar voice said, "You may go on in, Asuma." The bearded jonin turned to see that his father was walking toward him, coming back to his office after whatever it had been occupying his time. Asuma nodded, walking in. After Hiruzen walked through, the younger Sarutobi closed it.

"So, did you enjoy teaching Ryu's class?" the Hokage asked as he sat down behind his desk. "Iruka was really surprised when I asked him to take a day off so you could sub for him."

Asuma nodded. "I'm sure he was. It would be an odd request to someone who didn't know what we were doing."

The elderly man leaned back in his chair, staring at his son as he waited for him to speak again. When he didn't, the Hokage inquired, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did," he replied. He remembered it clearly. After he'd walked up to Ryu, he'd asked him the same he had the young Haruno girl. Ryu had looked up to meet his eyes, and with just that one time getting a good look at his eyes, Asuma had known instantly just what his father had wanted him to see. There was something under the pained and deadness that one could only see if they truly looked for it, going past what was in the front.

"What did you see?"

"I saw guilt," Asuma replied. "That wasn't all, though. Beyond that, he looked like he was being haunted with some memory."

Hiruzen sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."

Asuma met his father's eyes. "He's not just feeling guilt over Sakura, is he? Killing Shiro has torn him open, hasn't it?"

"Along with other things," the Hokage responded. "I believe that he's also remembering what happened in his past."

Asuma saddened, remembering the tale he'd been told about a week before. A silence fell over the room, the only noise coming from the Konoha villagers going through their regular afternoon routines. More than once Asuma considered breaking the silence, but it seemed as if something had turned off his voice box.

_His past was a hard one, Asuma. I believe that it was harder on him than he's willing to admit._

Hiruzen finally broke the silence, his eyes distant as if he was seeing something not in the round office. "Asuma, there's something I must ask you."

Just like every time his father said something similar, Asuma thought the same question he'd been expecting since their first meeting. "Yes?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to help Ryu."

Asuma nodded. "I'll do whatever it is you need me to do."

The elderly man sighed, shaking his head. "That's not what I asked you, Asuma. I asked you if you _wanted_ to help Ryu. It's not a mission I'm giving you," he said. "It's a mission I'm letting you give yourself."

For a second, Asuma almost said that if it wasn't a mission, he'd rather not. After all, why did he need to waste his time on a matter that didn't concern him? Why did he need to get involved in Ryu's life? But he paused, truly thinking about it. What had driven him to watch Ryu the past few days? That the Hokage of the Leaf was telling him to? Or was it because he wanted to? He hadn't felt like he was on a mission. He hadn't felt like he'd had to do it. The more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if he would have done the same thing if his father had never even asked him to. He knew that he wanted to help Ryu, but he hadn't known just how much. And the thought of not helping the young boy made him sick.

"Yes. I do want to help him," Asuma admitted.

The Hokage smiled, nodding in approval. He hadn't decided for him, but Hiruzen had been worried that his son would refuse. Asuma could see that. What would he have done if he had refused? "Then do as you wish."

"So I just do whatever I think will help him?" Asuma asked, needing reassurance.

He nodded. "That is correct, Asuma. Whatever you think will bring him back to the living will do," Hiruzen replied. "If you have no more questions, you are dismissed."

****

Sakura climbed the large hill before her, wondering why the stupid thing had to be so steep. By the time she got to the top of the hill, her legs were complaining to her. The pinkette wasn't sure anyone could walk up the hill without somehow being affected.

The view, however, was enough to knock the tiredness out of here. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the world. The hill was high enough that Sakura could see the entire village, the sun peeking over the mountain. Pink leaves drifted down from a sakura tree by them. There was little to no noise on the hill, making it seem like the entire place was at complete peace

Ryu sat in the middle of the entire place, leaning against the sakura tree as he gazed out over the village. For the first time since they'd returned from, he seemed at peace.

"Ryu," Sakura murmured, the boy at the tree tensing. Before he could say anything, Sakura walked over to were he was and sat by him. Ryu didn't look at him once, instead continuing to look out at the village. Sakura tried to meet his eyes, but the Sarutobi made sure to avoid her emerald eyes. "Ryu!"

Ryu sighed, closing his eyes for a second before resuming his endless watching of the village. "What do you need, Sakura?"

Giving up on trying to meet his eyes, Sakura followed Ryu's lead and gazed at Konoha. "I wanted to see how you're doing. Every day you've locked yourself up in your room, so I haven't gotten to talk to you."

For a moment, Ryu didn't seem like he was going to say anything, but then he said, "I'm fine, Sakura. You're the one who was attacked by Shiro in the middle of the night."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she remembered the pain of that night. For a second, she thought he was right. He would be fine. Ryu was stronger than she was.

No, Sakura told herself. She'd been told that he'd stayed up night and day and refused to eat or drink except for the first time they'd been given food and water. He had held off Shiro until the other got to the cave and killed him(1). He'd suffered, going through the mind pain jutsu the first time. Every time she'd looked into his eyes, it seemed like he was seeing something other than what was around them. And whatever that thing was, it seemed to hurt him.

"You suffered more than I did," Sakura said. "There was only a couple times Shiro hurt me, once when he took us and another when you saved me. But that's just it. You saved me, Ryu."

His head snapped toward her, sudden tears streaming from his eyes. "It's my fault you were even there!" he snapped. "If I hadn't chased after you that day, you wouldn't have been there. If I had only fought back harder, you could have escaped. If I wouldn't have woken up, you would have died!"

The Haruno girl flinched, surprised by his sudden outburst. That, and the sudden rush of emotions after seeing him so dead for the past few days. She stared at him, seeing his internal struggle to force the emotions back. The only problem was there was a great flash of pain in his eyes before he managed to force the pain down.

****

Ryu clenched his fist as he forced the walls back up. He didn't know what had made the feelings break the dam completely, but it had. Just looking at Sakura had made something in him crack. But it had brought about something else as well. A sense of peace that he didn't quite understand. It was the same feeling that looking at the village caused, reaching past his shields and drawing out the emotions he kept locked away. He felt like he was going to be crushed by them.

"Sakura," Ryu said, his voice calmer than moments before, "I'll be fine, okay. Just leave me alone for a little bit."

Now it seemed like Sakura was the one getting angry. Ryu stared at her, hating the way she was acting. She hadn't acted that way around the others at the Academy or before the kidnapping. It was those events that had forced this side of her out. And it was all his fault. Because of him, they were both ten year olds going through things most adults didn't even go through.

"No you aren't," Sakura said. "Please, Ryu, tell me what's wrong."

Ryu could feel the emotions start to boil up as he looked into her eyes. Just something about them made that peace fill him, but at the same time, they made the emotions want to rush forward and crush him. "I'm fine," he repeated. For the first time since he'd met Sakura, he wanted to yell at her to shut up and leave. He turned away, refusing to meet those emerald eyes that reached past his shields.

"It wasn't your fault, Ryu."

There they were again. Those words that totally made him crack. "You could have died!" He didn't know what it was about them, but those seemed to touch closer then anything else she could say. Was it because of how strongly he blamed himself?

"But I'm not dead! Why don't you realize that?" Jeez, the two of them were acting so mature for ten years old. "You saved me, Ryu. Yes, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place," Sakura exclaimed.

Ryu's face paled as he turned to look at Sakura, feeling like she'd just stabbed him in the chest. Tears were streaming from her face, and it seemed like she was letting out something she'd been wanting to say for a long time. How long had she been thinking of a conversation like the one they were having?

She spoke again before Ryu could speak. "But Ryu, without you, I would have died. Heck, for all we know, Shiro may have hunted down me or someone in my family because of his past with Aunt Hana. There's so many possibilities here, Ryu. I could have ended up in the exact same situation later on."

When Sakura finished, her breathing was hard and her face was red. She stared at Ryu, almost like she was searching for something. For a second, Ryu wondered if she could see what was going on in his head, because what she said suddenly connected some lines.

Although Sakura brought forth those unbelievably strong emotions, both she and the Leaf Village brought peace to him. Even though there was a lot of ifs with Sakura and the fact she'd been kidnapped because of him, he had saved her. And he had saved Konoha by not giving in to Shiro's mental torture. Both of them he saved. Despite all the crap he'd gone through and all he put Sakura through, he had achieved that. He'd protected two of the things closest to him - his home and Sakura. He was her friend, and he also promised to protect her. He had done so.

Even though he hadn't noticed it before, he felt like there was a bit of a huge weight taken off his shoulders. His guilt over Sakura had been unbelievably strong, being one of those crushing feelings. It was like that weight was all those emotions pushing down on him, making sure they were known but not as terrible.

****

Sakura watched Ryu, seeing the change going on with him. It seemed as if there was a faint candle in the darkness, lighting it up a bit. A part of the old Ryu that she'd gotten to know. She'd only known him for a few days, but she found that she really didn't want that Ryu to disappear. She wanted that part back.

And she could see part of him within the darkness that now glazed over his pale eyes. It was strange that such pale eyes could look so dark. His eyes were the perfect example of an oxymoron.

Ryu stood, and for a moment, Sakura began to protest, but then she saw a light smile on his face. He looked down at her, that light growing slightly stronger. "Thank you, Sakura." Without another word, Ryu walked away, going down the hill.

As Sakura watched him, a huge smile spread across her face. She may have not done much, but she'd accomplished something. It may not have been much, but she'd seen a piece of the old Ryu. That meant he could be repaired. Piece by piece, he could be put back together.

****

"How long have you been standing there?" Ryu asked as he descended down the hill, not having to look back to know the Sarutobi man was behind him. He'd glimpsed him through the corner of his eye as he'd passed the tree. He'd done very well at concealing his chakra, but he hadn't been trying too hard to keep himself concealed after Ryu passed him.

"I came just around your outburst," Asuma replied, catching up to Ryu so he was to his side. "It was quite unlike it. It seems as if Sakura touches those feelings just like food did at first, huh?"

Ryu hadn't thought of it, but what he said made perfect sense. It would explain why those green eyes had such a strong effect on him. Sakura and his promise to her had given him more strength than his village after the first time Shiro delved into his mind. After that it seemed more like he was protecting Sakura because Shiro hadn't tried it again. He shrugged. "I'm fine now."

Asuma snorted. "Yeah right. You're definitely not fine, Ryu."

Ryu sighed, trying to think of something to get him out of talking to the jonin. "What is it that you want, Asuma?"

The man surprised Ryu by saying, "I was wondering if you could come to my house for a little. I understand that you live by yourself and often eat anything that's easy to make for dinner. I was wondering if you would want to eat an actual dinner." He smiled. "My father says that your live for Soba is a match for my own."

At the mention of Soba, Ryu's previously sleeping stomach woke with a tremendous growl. "Soba?" he repeated, glancing at him through the corner of his eye. "You like Soba?"

"Why else would I say your love for it rivaled my own?" Asuma asked, a small grin on his face. "I was thinking afterward I could show you an interesting game that I'm sure you'd love."

Ryu didn't really care about the game, but Asuma telling him that there would be Soba made it impossible for him to resist. "Sure, I guess," Ryu finally agreed.

"That was delicious. Thank you, Asuma," Ryu said after he finished the Soba, Asuma just finishing his fourth plate.

He laughed. "Thanks. It's nothing compared to what my mom used to cook, though," Asuma remarked. "Your taste buds would have overloaded from hers if you enjoyed mine."

Ryu felt a slight tug on the corner of his lip, but even if Sakura had taken off a bit of the weight, he still felt that overwhelming pain that he had to keep at bay. Otherwise it would destroy him. Even letting out happiness would release other emotions. He refused to do so.

"So," Asuma said, meeting his eyes. There was a bit of worried mixed with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "How about I show you that game I was talking about?" Before Ryu could respond, the man rose and made his way to a door that led to an outside porch. Deciding not to be rude, Ryu rose as well and followed Asuma out.

Ryu glanced at Asuma to see him taking a seat on the opposite side of a wooden board, a line of wooden pieces taking up two lines on either side. It looked familiar, but Ryu couldn't place where he'd seen it. "What is this?" Ryu asked, following Asuma's example and sitting on the other side of the board.

"It's a game called Shogi. It involves a lot of thinking and strategy." With the name of the game out of the way, Asuma began to explain the way to play and every rule of Shogi. Ryu didn't understand why the other Sarutobi wanted him to know how to play Shogi so well, but he seemed intent on making sure Ryu played well. He went as far as playing himself and showing him all the things. Ryu listened with part of his mind while the other half was still locked away in his mind, so Asuma had to explain a lot of things twice. It was almost dark when Asuma and Ryu played their first game. It ended quickly, though, with Asuma reigning as the winner.

Ryu's eyes narrowed in annoyance. How had the other person beaten him so quickly.

"You're distracted, Ryu. You actually have to focus if you even want a chance of beating me," Asuma advised.

****

It was their eleventh game when Ryu finally managed to say, "I got you for real this time!" He stared down at the board, his eyes gleaming. Asuma watched him, a small smile on his face. His plan had worked. The more frustrated Ryu had gotten, the more he'd tried to win, causing him to actually think instead of remaining in the torture zone in his mind. With each and every game, he'd been drawn out more and more.

Asuma looked down at the board, feeling surprise slap him in the face. The way that the pieces were played were the same as something he'd only seen one time in his life - during the war. It had actually been inspired by Shogi, but it was based a lot on chance. The other person had to react the way the other wanted. And Ryu had done just that, recreating the battle strategy as then. Had he meant to? Did he know if it? How was he supposed to, though, when he wasn't around when the plan had first been made?

He felt himself slightly relax when he saw one flaw in the plan. He sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry to tell you, but you're wrong, Ryu." He moved his knight to destroy Ryu's knight, which had been in perfect position to take out his king. "Checkmate," he stated, leaning back.

Ryu stared at the board, his mouth open ever so slightly. "How? I had that perfectly planned! How'd I mess up?"

Asuma chuckled, staring at the perplexed boy. "You know how the move before you moved your other knight back to ensure protection for your king?" he asked. When the black haired boy nodded, Asuma resumed. "Well, if you'd left it where it was at, you could have taken out my knight and you would have had me in checkmate."

"You're kidding me! I made that simple of a mistake?" he exclaimed, glaring at the board.

Asuma couldn't stop himself from smiling bigger. Not when he was seeing all that life now in the young boy. Then he saddened ever so slightly. "You need to stop trying to fight it on your own," he said.

For a second, Ryu's confused expression returned, but then it turned slightly angered. "I don't want to talk about that, Asuma."

"Your wants and your needs are totally different things," he pointed out, "and this is something you need to talk about." Before Ryu began to protest again, Asuma went on. "Could you have felt any better without talking to Sakura? Without having someone there to help lead you, would you have found peace when it comes to your guilt to Sakura?"

Ryu looked down at the board, and for a second, Asuma thought he was going to fling the board to the side. Instead he sighed. "Please, don't make me talk about it."

"So you'd rather have Sakura and your grandfather worry to death about you?" Asuma questioned, watching the young boy. He shifted to get up, refusing to look Asuma in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Asuma, but I just don't want to," he said. "They won't worry for too long." Ryu began to leave, but Asuma speaking made him stop.

"Please, Ryu." There must have been something in his voice, but he turned his head to meet Asuma's black . "Ryu, I don't even know you. I barely know you, and I have nightmares at night sometimes because of you." Ryu's eyes widened at the new knowledge, turning completely around so he was facing Asuma again. "Just think of how much they must worry about you."

"Why?" His voice was barely over a whisper, almost like he actually was imagining it.

"It's because of the way your eyes look." As Asuma spoke, Ryu reached up and touched the spot under his left eye. "You may be able to keep the emotions off your face, but you can't keep them from your eyes. The first time I saw you, Ryu, I thought you were dead inside."

The young boy stared at him, trying to see if he was lying. Apparently seeing what he needed, he sighed. "Fine, Asuma. I'll talk to you."

He sighed mentally in relief. Finally Asuma would be able to help the young boy. He smiled on the outside. "How about you come to my place after school every other day to play Shogi so we can talk?"

Ryu nodded. "That sounds good," he said, and this time when he went to leave, Asuma simply watched, trying to figure out what he would speak to Ryu about in a couple days.

****

It was slow, but piece by piece, Ryu was beginning to return to himself. Through the next two weeks he sat next to Sakura and would occasionally talk about the guilt during break. It was mostly about nightmares he had about the what ifs happening, and both Sakura and Ino helped him through it. Every other day he would spend playing Shogi and talking about the two(2) deaths that tortured him. He still remained withdrawn from the world, usually escaping to his rooms on the days he didn't meet with Asuma. The rest of the time he went to the hill beside Konoha to look out at the peaceful scene. Sakura helped him, but it also hurt him to be around her. It was completely different when it came to just looking out at his village. At his home.

Today was the first day since he'd talked to Sakura on the hill that he wasn't sitting by her. He needed a break from the overwhelming emotions and the only way he could find to was to isolate himself as best he could from the world. She understood and simply glanced at him a few times at his corner by Naruto, a place nobody else ever sat. That was another person he would occasionally talk to, becoming slightly more open with him every time they talked. But just slightly. It was during his mental review of the past couple weeks that he was spoken to.

"Ryu, would you mind coming down here for a moment," Iruka said from the front.

The young boy was slow to reply, forcing himself out of his mind. "Yes, Iruka-sensei." He got to his feet and walked down the steps.

As he passed a red haired boy he believed was named Kaoru, the said boy snickered. "Look at that. Zombie boy finally joins us."

He shut his mouth when Iruka glared at him. "Seeing as you seem so compelled to get attention, Kaoru, why don't you join Ryu up here for the demonstration I need you two to do?" he suggested in a nice tone, but it was obvious to everyone that it was an order.

Smirking confidently, Kaoru got to his feet and strode down the steps. "Whatever you need, Iruka-sensei!" He followed behind Ryu, grumbling, "Even walks as slow as a zombie," when they were almost completely down the steps.

Instead of snapping at him to shut up, Ryu walked to the side of Iruka, waiting for his instructions. "Now boys, I was wondering if you two would mind giving us a demonstration of what a pure taijutsu fight is. That means no weapons and no ninjutsu," the scarred shinobi said.

"Okay." Ryu turned to the other boy, who was already in a fighting stance. "So just anything that's taijutsu?"

Iruka nodded, walking around the edges of the fake ring around the boys. He glanced at both of them, stopping between the two. "Begin," he said, and instantly Kaoru charged.

Ryu knew that Kaoru was one of the weaker of all the kids in class, so he didn't expect much and just went to block. Which was why he was so surprised when the other boy's fist collided with his face, his own hand too slow to catch the fist. Ryu yelped, stumbling back. His nose throbbed painfully and he felt something wet running down his face.

Growling in annoyance, Ryu jumped at the boy. He struck at his face as well, but Kaoru was faster than Ryu had been and hit his elbow so that his arm rose, leaving his left half vulnerable. Once again Ryu was too slow to block, the kick delivered to his ribs sending pain rippling across his side. He even felt a bit of breath leave him.

Before the boy could attack again, the young Sarutobi got out of range, glaring at the boy as he tried to figure out what he was doing wrong. He was doing everything he normally did. When had Kaoru grown so strong?

He laughed. "Is that all you've got, Ryu? Jeez, even that lazy bum Shikamaru could beat you!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Where are these amazing powers that you used to hold back the infamous Shiro Yamanaka?" He began laughing, and Ryu felt his face redden. "You're so slow it actually makes me laugh, Ryu. Is that your plan? Make me laugh to death from how pathetically weak you are?"

"Kaoru, enough," Iruka barked, glaring at the red head until his laughter ceased.

"What? Everyone here has wanted to see these great skills that he used to hold off Shiro. Yet here he is, not even putting up a good enough fight to beat a newly entered eight year old!" Kaoru looked at Ryu. "Do you ever even train?"

Ryu was about to snap back that he did, but then he paused. When was the last time he'd practiced at home? When was the last time he'd sparred with Naruto? For just how long had he been relying on his old training to get him through the Academy? And how long ago had what Iruka been teaching surpassed what he already knew?

_Crap!_ Ryu mentally exclaimed, mentally kicking himself in the butt. Kaoru was right. He was getting his butt handed to him. All because he'd slacked off. He'd relied too much on the past.

How would events have differed in the cave if he'd simply trained more? Would he still have been as weak? Or would his body have grown stronger? Then another terrible thought came to him. If he had been stronger, would he have had to use that terrible power? Would he have had to resort to killing Shiro, or would what Sakura had been made to believe be true?

It was that thought that burned in Ryu's mind through the rest of the Academy and what guided his feet to his destination after school. He stopped when something wooden blocked his path, raising his hand and knocking on it. After about a minute, the piece of wood opened to reveal the man that had been playing Shogi with him for the past two weeks.

"What are you doing here, Ryu?" Asuma asked. "I thought I told you every other day? After doing it for two weeks, I thought you'd remember that."

"I'm not here to play Shogi," Ryu informed him. "I'm here with a request."

The elder of the two Sarutobis raised an eyebrow. A request? And what exactly would that request be?"

Ryu paused to think how to word it rather than just bluntly asking. He would rather quickly explain himself first. "You know of my past, so you know how hard my teaching was. I've relied on this ever since I got to Konoha," he explained. "But with how little I've been able to pay attention at school, I haven't been able to notice that all my classmates are ahead of me."

"So what do you want me to do?" Asuma asked, already looking like he knew.

"I want you to help train me, Asuma," Ryu said.

He gained a wary look. "Ryu, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'd have time," Asuma said. "I have missions and other jonin stuff. Why don't you just ask Iruka to catch you up?"

"Because I want to surpass being caught up."

"What? You aiming for number one now, Ryu? That doesn't seem like you," he pointed out.

Ryu shook his head. "That's not what I want." He reached down and touched his ring, hearing words that would stick with him forever ring in his head.

_Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to protect the ones you care about._

"What I want is to be able to protect those I care about no matter what." Before he spoke again, he looked down at his ring. He squeezed it once and then released it, meeting dark eyes with his pale ones. "I want to be able to do it without calling up my curse."

**(1) Remember, as I said in the chapter notes, her memory was tampered with.**

**(2) Yes, I meant to put two deaths, not one. But you guys don't find out about the second death until later.**

**So how many of you hate me for having that huge cliffhanger at the end of the previous chapter and then giving you this sucky chapter? Ha. Sucky's being nice, I know. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first arc in general. The rest will come whenever I get the chapter written. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.**


	7. Promise of a Lifetime

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Promise of a Lifetime - that song belongs to Kutless.**

The wind whistled softly through the air, causing the wind to rustle in a way that aided Ryu in hiding his soft breathing. His pale eyes refused to rest on anything, searching for the slightest movement that would give away his target's location.

There was nothing, though, the other member of the battle well hidden. Ryu knew that he'd give him a hint eventually. He always did. After all, how was a boy who wouldn't be a genin unless he passed his upcoming test find a jounin?

_Snap!_

And there it was. The slight slip up Asuma always made on purpose. Ryu acted instantly, moving swiftly to his pouch and producing kunai between each finger. He threw them in the direction of the noise, his eyes tracing the shadow of the retreating figure. When he saw the figure stop, he launched himself at the shadow. The person reacted immediately, taking a few shuriken from their pouch and sending them toward Ryu.

Ryu landed on a nearby branch and jumped up so that he was higher than the shurikens' path, his eyes not once leaving the other's black eyes. He brought his hands together, performing a series of hand signs. "Lightning style! Lightning snakes jutsu!" Ryu held his hand out toward his enemy, lightning bolts that zigzagged like snakes making their way to the other shinobi.

"Good job, Ryu. You're hand seal speed has increased," the other male said, doing a back flip to avoid the lightning.

Ryu sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Not fast enough apparently," he grumbled. "You can still see it coming, Asuma, as easily as when we first began."

The older Sarutobi smiled. "That's because I've helped you with your techniques and have memorized every one of your moves. After teaching a kid for two years you start to get to know him."

"Then how come I still can't beat you?" Ryu challenged, staring down at the man he'd grown close to since he first began helping him. His help had been a big thing that had helped Ryu recover. Asuma had both listened and advised Ryu with all the things bothering him at the time, playing Shogi or fighting him as they talked. Keeping his mind off what he spoke about helped Ryu to talk. Piece by piece, he'd almost completely returned to his normal self. There was still days he'd return to being depressed, but most days he was just himself. The weight that had been on his shoulders was gone, only returning when the depression did.

He owed both Asuma and Sakura a debt for healing him. Ryu wasn't sure how he'd repay the two, but he knew he had to do it.

"Because I haven't shown you everything up my sleeve. You haven't been able to make me do so, Ryu." Asuma stared up at the young boy, waiting for his next move.

His eyes narrowed, glancing around as he looked for things he could use to his advantage. Asuma waited patiently, ready to respond appropriately to whatever the younger Sarutobi had planned.

Looking over completely as if something had caught his eye, he took a very small step toward it. For a second, Asuma's eyes flickered in the same direction to figure out what had caught Ryu's interest. It was then that Ryu shot forward, pulling out a kunai. Asuma movement was swift enough to produce a kunai as well, blocking Ryu's. A clang of metal filled the air between the males. Before Ryu could land, Asuma used his own kunai to force his out of the way and kicked the boy in the chest, sending him flying back. He slammed into the very tree he'd come from, sliding down it so he was in a sitting position.

"Very good, Ryu," Asuma said. "If I didn't know you so well, I probably would have fallen for that." He reached down, lifting Ryu to his feet with the ease of a man strengthened from years training.

"Thanks." Ryu straightened out his shirt, which had rose up enough to slightly reveal his stomach.

Asuma glanced up at the sky, a small frown on his lips. "Have you been paying attention to the time?" he asked.

When Ryu glanced up, he mentally chided himself for not paying attention. He would be a little tardy at best. "Why didn't you point that out before? I thought you knew I still couldn't tell time all that well from the sky?"

Asuma's frown turned to a slight smile. "I guess you could say this is my way of making you learn." He gestured to toward the village. "Today is the day you take the test, isn't it?" When Ryu nodded in reply, he said," Then you had better get going or you may just miss it."

Ryu nodded, turning in the direction that would lead him to the Academy. "You want to continue after Academy lets out?" he asked.

"I'll meet you afterward. If you pass the test, I'll give you a break and we'll do what we usually do on Fridays. How's that sound."

The Academy student couldn't help but smile at the offer. "Sure does!" With that taken care of, Ryu took off, eager to arrive at the Academy. Finally, after years of training and trying to become a ninja, he was finally going to do it! He was going to take the test to see if he'd become a genin. The thing he'd dreamt of since he arrived at Konoha. Ever since he met Hiruzen, a person who was a great shinobi who used his power to help those he cared about.

For a second, he wondered about what would happen if he failed. After all, for about three years at the Academy, he'd relied completely on what he had done long ago. Now, however, he was pushing himself back up in the ranks of the Academy students. Could he previous cockiness be his downfall in the upcoming test?

Ryu pushed that thought away. If he worried about things like that, he'd just drag himself down. He had to be confident. Asuma had taught him well, helping him push beyond what he had before. His biggest problem was the regular jutsus. All he'd been taught as a kid was to use his elemental jutsus, so It was strange having to do things such as substitution and clone jutsus. Asuma had to force him to learn them, though, so he was at about normal level with normal jutsu.

A quick glance at the sky knocks Ryu out of his thoughts. Instead he faces forward again and forces himself to sprint even faster than he had been. He only had ten minutes to get to the Academy and he was just entering the village from the other side.

Ryu weaved through the crowd, jumping on top of buildings and taking risky short cuts that were filled with demonic dogs who enjoyed attacking Ryu just to see which could catch him first. Who needed a mail man when they had him around?

By the time the Academy's top came into view, Ryu felt about ready to collapse. He forced himself to continue at a slower pace, though, refusing to be any later than he had to be. When the gates finally came into his sight, his energy was renewed, wanting the sweet relief of rest he could only achieve after getting to his goal.

_I still have one more minute,_ Ryu realized, staring at the sky as he made his way to the Academy gate. He'd made it with great timing. He had expected to be five minutes late. Then he paused, continuing to look at the sky. How much time had Asuma said he'd had? "Liar," Ryu muttered, figuring out what Asuma had done. He knew that Ryu didn't do well at reading time through the sun and had made it seem like he would be later than he would by the way he asked if Ryu had been paying attention to the sun. He'd had fifteen or seventeen minutes to get to class at the gate, not ten.

Going at a light jog instead of a sprint into the Academy, Ryu got to his room to see that Iruka wasn't in there. Sighing with relief, he pushed open the screen door. Everyone glanced back to see if it was Iruka arriving, but when they figured out it wasn't, they resumed whatever they'd been doing prior to his entrance.

The room was filled with excited students. They were all in groups, chatting with their friends. Eagerness flowed from every group, making it impossible not to feel the same. But it was understandable. After all, it was their last day as being Academy students. Well, at least most of the kids' last day.

Ryu's eyes scanned the packed room, searching for a place to sit. Sakura was sitting beside - he mentally groaned - Sasuke, a boy named Shikamaru on Sakura's other side. The pinkette may seem to think clearer away from Sasuke, but the moment her eyes fell on the Uchiha, it seemed like she stopped thinking about everything else. Ryu couldn't help if she was crushing on him. It wasn't the Sasuke-crazed side of Sakura Ryu really liked. It was the gentler side of her she showed when around him that he liked.

He truly didn't mind, though. It seemed to keep her mind off past events, something he'd worried about for a long time. Just because she wasn't as affected didn't mean she wouldn't still be traumatized. But focusing on Sasuke during class had seemed to help her as well as hanging with Ryu. As long as Sasuke kept the pain away, Ryu didn't mind.

Deciding it was best not sitting in the seat in front of Sakura by the shadowy bug child of the Aburame clan, he searched for another seat. He smiled when he saw Naruto had a free seat beside of him, Hinata on the side opposite of the blond.

"Hey, Naruto. Hey, Hinata," Ryu greeted, waving to the shy girl and his overly enthusiastic friend.

"I was worried you'd chickened out, Ryu! It wouldn't surprise me seeing as you have such an awesome friend to be in the shadows of. But don't worry. I'll make sure to add you into my thank you speech," Naruto assured Ryu, causing the other boy to laugh. Naruto smiled, though he looked slightly lost. That just made Ryu laugh harder. "You're strange, Ryu."

"You're one to talk," he said. "At least I don't go around painting on the monument of my friend's grandpa."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you give me the red paint?"

"I thought we agreed to never talk about that?"

Before the blond could respond, the door opened, and this time Iruka walked in instead of another late hurrying student. "Good morning, class," the scarred ninja greeted, making his way to the front of the room. He had a clipboard in his hand, a smile on his face as he looked at his soon to be old students. "I'm sure you all know what today is."

There was a chorus of cheers, excitement crackling in the air. His smile grew broader as he took in his class's eagerness. Ryu also smiled at Naruto stared at Iruka, looking like he was ready to bolt to him just to be given the test.

"Today I hope all of you will grow in rank to become genin, but there is the chance of some of you failing. Knowing you guys, though, I'm sure all of you will pass." Even as he spoke, Iruka sent a worried glance at Naruto, something Ryu only noticed because his eyes were locked on the chunin's eyes.

_Just tell us what the test is!_ Ryu pleaded mentally, trying to learn what was needed by looking at his eyes. A growing fear grew within him that it would be something difficult, but once again he shoved the worry away.

"To graduate, class, you will have to succeed in making three clones with the clone jutsu."

Ryu tensed, but then he relaxed. It was only three clones. He could manage that at least. He thought he could do about four or five, but he wasn't exactly sure. The Sarutobi pushed his worries away, a new worry replacing it. Naruto.

The blond boy had become as pale as a ghost, his blue eyes wide with fear. It was no secret that Naruto sucked at the clone jutsu. Why, out of all the jutsus in the world, did it have to be the one Naruto couldn't do?

Ryu chewed on his bottom lip as he watched his friend shift from frozen to freaking out. He looked as if he was going to pull all of his blond hair out. Hinata was looking at the whiskered boy as well, her concern mirroring Ryu's.

"Ryu Sarutobi, you're up first," Iruka announced.

Ryu was surprised to hear his name called not just early, but as the very first. Despite his surprise, he still got to his feet. He sent Naruto one last worried look before making his way to the door Iruka had gone through.

He followed Iruka back into the room, his heart running a marathon in his chest. He never expected to be so anxious for the test, but he suddenly wanted to turn and run. What would it be like if he failed? How disappointed would Grandpa be?

The room he was led to was mostly empty except for a table covered in shinobi headbands. The symbol of being a protector of their nation. That showed they were true shinobi and not just learning to be one. Not many of the kids understood just how big a responsibility that simple headband held. After growing up with the Hokage, he'd found out just how much it had.

Which was why he was going to pass. He wanted to be one of the people with that responsibility. He wanted to be one of the people who dedicated their life to helping the citizens of Konoha and protected their home. If he was able to, he even wanted to help all those without their own power to use to protect themselves.

Iruka sat by another sensei known as Mizuki. The white haired man watched him along with Iruka as the younger male took his spot in front of the two.

"Okay, Ryu, to pass you just need to create two clones," Iruka instructed.

Ryu nodded, feeling his confidence slowly rising. It was only two clones. He could manage that. _I'll do it, and then I'll be a ninja._ Ryu thought, bringing his hands up to perform the correct sequence of hand signs. "Clone jutsu!"

There was a poof of smoke on either side of Ryu. It clouded his vision for a moment as the smoke passed in front of his face. Within seconds, though, it vanished. The Sarutobi glanced at both sides, letting out a relieved sigh when he saw two mirror images of him. He'd done it. Ryu had passed.

Iruka smiled and nodded. "Good job, Ryu. You may select a headband and return to your seat," the scarred chunin said.

Ryu nodded, grabbing a headband and heading out. He tied it around his forehead, but that felt wrong. He was about to take it off, but then he decided he'd just figure it out when he got to his house.

Remembering that he could leave, Ryu turned and walked through the door he'd entered through. All the kids' eyes instantly fell on his forehead, their already vast excitement growing when they saw the metal plate there.

But he didn't pay attention to all of them. Instead he looked for two certain people. Sakura smiled, obviously happy that he had succeeded in the test. Naruto gave him a thumbs up, but he still looked about ready to crumble to pieces. As if on cue, his thumb fell and he started yanking at his blond hair again. He'd be bald by the time his turn came up.

Iruka followed out only seconds after Ryu began to walk to his seat. By the time he sat down, Iruka had already announced Shino Aburame was next up.

About five more students followed before Iruka came out again and said, "Naruto Uzumaki."

The said boy froze in his hair tearing when his name was called. His blue eyes traveled up to look at Iruka. Despite his obvious fear, he put on a brave front as he got to his feet and made his way down the aisle. Ryu watched him, his concern for his friend growing slowly.

"He'll be just fine," Hinata whispered, almost reassuringly. When Ryu glanced at her, he saw she was watching Naruto as well.

"You're right. If there's anyone who will make sure he becomes a genin, it's Naruto."

The Hyuuga girl flinched, obviously not meaning for him to hear. She smiled slightly, though. Ryu wasn't sure if his extra assurance worked, but she turned back toward Naruto, a new type of hope in her eyes.

He smiled, wishing he could do the same for himself. Nobody how hard he tried, though, he couldn't figure out how Naruto could become a genin.

His fears were confirmed when Naruto walked out of the room, his head bowed. Ryu didn't have to see Naruto's face to know there was a disappointed look on his face. If it wasn't worse.

"Naruto," Hinata murmured, staring at the whiskered boy. Her eyes were filled with concern, making it clear she cared for Naruto despite the fact Naruto rarely ever noticed her. Ryu bit his lip, unsure of how to consul his friend as he walked passed his seat. He expected the boy to stop and take his seat, but instead the boy went on. Ryu watched as he walked out the door, his heart clenching as his friend left. He hated it so very, very much when people hurt and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Where are you going?" Ryu asked.

"Outside." With that last word, Naruto kept on walking, not looking back once.

Biting his lip, Ryu got to his feet and followed.

*~*~*~

When Ryu got outside, he saw Naruto sitting on his favorite swing. A few parents had already arrived to wait for their children, so Ryu had to go around them just to get to his blond friend.

"Just leave me alone, Ryu," Naruto murmured, still staring down at the ground.

"How long have I been your friend, Naruto?" the other boy demanded, trying to figure out the right words to sooth his friends. He just couldn't find them, though, so he decided he had to wing it.

He shrugged. "Since we first entered the Academy, I think."

Ryu nodded in confirmation. "Since the very first day," he said. "I haven't left you since then, and I'm not leaving you now. You can tell me to go away as much as you want, but I won't."

Naruto pursed his lips. "Sometimes I really hate your persistence, Ryu," he remarked, but he finally raised his blue eyes to Ryu's pale ones. "I'll be fine, seriously."

"You can't face everything along, Naruto."

"Why?" Naruto suddenly snapped. "Because I'm too weak to even become a genin? Become I'm a loser?"

"That's not true!" Ryu disagreed, caught off guard by the usually optimistic boy's sudden change. "You're one of the strongest ninja out there, Naruto. So what if you can't do a stupid clone jutsu? I bet it's just because it's too weak for you. You have to be challenged." Ryu's attempt at working Naruto's usually unbelievable confidence in himself didn't work.

"Or I'm too weak for it."

"Naruto-"

"You were about as strong as me, Ryu," Naruto interrupted. "A little after you and Sakura came back, you were around my level. I could spar with you and be fine. But then you suddenly shot back up. You're probably sixth best in taijutsu and pretty good at ninjutsu as well. You can even use cool lightning style jutsu!" Naruto shook his head. "If you can do that, tell me why I can't. Why am I so freaking weak when everyone else around me is so strong?"

Ryu was becoming more and more shocked by the way Naruto was acting. Finally he said, "Everyone else is how they are because, well, they're good with this type of teaching. You learn better by doing. I'm different from everyone else, which is why I could catch up so fast."

"What makes you so different, then, huh?" Naruto demanded, still irritated about Ryu's level compared to his own. "Just because you're the like Hokage's grandson? Because you're taught by that Asuma guy?"

"No." Ryu forced himself to stay calm, despite the fact he suddenly felt like running. He didn't want to tell Naruto, but he had to make him understand. Speaking of anything from his past brought forward that unbelievable pain. "I'm different because from the age of two until I was about seven, I was pushed to my limits to become strong."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Why?" he asked, his earlier anger as his strength completely forgotten.

Ryu reached toward his left hand and began twisting the ring on his finger. "I just didn't have the best of lives, okay? But that's the reason I was able to progress so much. I was already at that level, but I just let myself go. I was taught elemental jutsu before I was ever taught things such as the substitution jutsu and the clone jutsu. That's why I can use lightning style. So yeah, I'm just different."

If Naruto was going to say anything after that, he stopped because the doors opened and kids spilled out. The two boys had been oblivious to the parents that had arrived, but the field was now half filled with them, half filled with kids.

Ryu pursed his lips, feeling a pang in his heart when he remembered Hiruzen was going to be in the front instead of celebrating with him. Neither he nor Naruto had parents, leaving them alone in the Academy yard. The closest thing to family Ryu had was Hiruzen, but for things like this, he usually couldn't exactly be there and actually be there for Ryu because of who he was. Being the Hokage meant he'd have some work to do afterward involving the new graduates. He couldn't go out to eat or something like most kids probably would be.

"Hey, Ryu."

Ryu's eyes widened as he swirled around to face the new arrival. A smile broke across his face when he saw the bearded man before him. "Asuma!" he said, the older Sarutobi giving him a slight grin. Ryu had completely forgotten that after the test, he'd be going to Asuma's. It had slipped his mind entirely. But even if he'd remembered, he hadn't expected Asuma to show up to take him there. So either way he would have been surprised.

"Hello, Naruto," Asuma said when he noticed the Uzumaki child. "So, did you pass the test?"

That sad, dejected look returned. "No," he responded, staring at the ground again. "I'm the only one that failed."

Asuma sent Ryu a look that looked as if it was asking him what to do to make up for it. The smallest of shrugs was the only answer Ryu could give him. He wasn't even sure how to cheer him up, and he was his best friend.

"I was going to take Ryu to my place for dinner. You want to join us?" Asuma attempted, still looking between Naruto and the other boy.

"No." His answer was almost emotionless, somehow both hiding and showing his sadness at the same time. "I have no reason to celebrate."

"We're not celebrating," Ryu said. "I just go to his house every Friday." He wasn't going to mention that he usually sparred as well but wouldn't be that day because of his success. If anything, that would make Naruto even worse.

"No thanks, Ryu."

Ryu was about to protest, but what would he say? That it would make him forget the fact he'd failed the test? Becoming a ninja had been what had driven Naruto day to day. His dream to become Hokage had fueled every part of him. How could he just forget that when it would leave a hole in him to have those two things gone? He could always say there was always next year, but that would also just make things worse. It would separate Naruto from all his other classmates. How would he feel in a class of stranger students who would see him as the kid who failed the final test to become a genin?

Not sure what else to do to aid his friend, Ryu said, "Well, if you change your mind, we'll be at Asuma's house. Don't hesitate to come down." He began to walk, the still uneasy jonin falling into step beside him. As they did, a chill seemed to crawl from his toes to his scalp. He paused for a moment, glancing back to see Mizuki-sensei standing by Naruto, speaking to him in a pleasant tone.

"What's wrong, Ryu?" Asuma looked back as well. "Oh, it's that Mizuki-sensei guy from your class." Noticing Ryu's calculating gaze, Asuma asked, "Is there something wrong about him talking to Naruto?"

Ryu slowly shook his head, facing forward again. "No. It's nothing, Asuma. I just thought I saw Sakura by Naruto, that's all."

Knowing about Ryu's crush, Asuma laughed as he continued to walk. Ryu did as well, but before he had, he'd cast one more worried look over his shoulder. What had the sudden chill been?

****

_She was lost in the never ending trees, searching for something without knowing what that something was. All she knew was it was drawing her in the direction she was going. Its hold on her was unwavering, making it impossible to escape._

_The walking continued until the girl got to a clearing in the forest. Whatever drew her forward disappeared, replaced by the feeling of being watched. "Hello!" she called, but there was no answer. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. What was going on? She knew someone else was there. Someone had to be. "Come out! You can't hide forever." She knew for a fact that if the person was strong enough, they could, indeed, hide forever._

_"Fine. If you truly want to meet again, we will."_

_The girl froze, slowly turning around. Her eyes widened when she saw a blond man standing before her, his body covered by ragged blue clothing. Shiro Yamanaka stood there, a cocky smile on his face._

_The girl tensed, her heart hammering against her chest. "No," she murmured, taking a step away. She turned to run, but she slammed her heels into the ground when she saw Shiro somehow in front of her again._

_"What's wrong? Are you afraid?" His hand shot forward, grasping her throat. "You should be. You may have been saved last time, but not now. Nobody is here now."_

_Her breathing became hard as fear began to override all of her senses. She was alone. Nobody was there to stop Shiro from kill her. Not a single person. She was going to die, and nobody was there to save her._

*~*~*~

Sakura bolted to an upright sitting position, gasping for air. Just like in her dream, her heart seemed to be trying to break through her ribcage it was beating so fast. Tears were spilling from her eyes. Whether it was caused by fear or the relief of being alive, Sakura couldn't tell.

Her eyes closed as she tried to calm down, but that only made it worse. Without her eyes open, she thought Shiro would appear from thin air and she wouldn't know it until she was dead.

It had been a long time since those days from a couple years ago had haunted her. They had stopped about five months after her return, so the sudden reappearance was unexpected. What could have caused it.

It took Sakura a while to figure out, but she finally did. She was becoming a ninja. What if other situations like that were to occur? Would Sasuke save her? After all, he was the strongest in class. He could do it.

_What about Ryu?_ another part of her brain asked.

Sakura stared down at her hands, knowing it was stupid, but thinking of just how great it would be to have Sasuke save her instead. After all, he was her dream hero. But Ryu was a true friend, and even if she would almost never admit it, there was a part of her that liked him, too. The part that liked Sasuke, however, was greater.

And yet for some reason, she still felt that strange need for Ryu right then. Yes, she loved Sasuke more than any other guy, but Ryu did make her feel safe. He always had, and he always would.

****

"I'm going to be late again!" Ryu yelled, his anger getting the best of him. Asuma had done it again. Only this time he was right about him only having a handful of minutes. He'd made sure to be thorough about the time when he'd looked at the sky.

And all Asuma had done was laugh. After all, he was a ninja now. It was his duty to be one time. Ryu wished he could hit the bearded jonin in the face, but seeing as he'd done it a few times and it had done nothing, he doubted it would now.

"Darn it, Asuma. You're treating me graduating as a game," the Sarutobi muttered, glaring ahead of him.

He had to maneuver around a lot of people, but before long, he arrived at the gate. With a quick glance at the sky, he concluded he had maybe two minutes left. Hoping Iruka would choose that day to be late, Ryu walked into the school and made his way to his class room.

And to his surprise, he saw an angry mob of girls beating the crap out of Naruto. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what the young Uzumaki had done to deserve such harsh punishment.

"What did you do?" he questioned, walking up to the beaten Naruto when the girls finally left.

Naruto glared. "Why didn't you help me?" he whined angrily, his one blue eye showing his anger. The other eye was swollen shut, the skin a dark purple color.

He gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Naruto. I just thought it would be better if at least one of us lived." He reached down, helping Naruto back onto his feet. "So, you never did answer me."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but it instantly snapped shut. He looked down at the floor, a look of utter embarrassment etched onto his face. "Nothing," he muttered.

Ryu waited, but when Naruto didn't get an answer, he shrugged. "Okay, you don't have to tell me." His eyes wondered the once again nearly packed room. Then he finally realized just what was going on. "Wait, Naruto, you didn't graduate! Why are you here?"

He rolled his visible eye. "Are you blind?" Naruto reached up and tapped a blue headband that Ryu had completely missed.

"Wow, Naruto. How'd you manage that?"

"I'm just awesome that way," Naruto said, turning around abruptly and walking toward the desks. "Anyone who doesn't already know that doesn't deserve to be in my presence.

It was Ryu's turn to roll his eyes, but he stopped when he noticed where Naruto was sitting. He sat on one end of the desk, the dreaded Sasuke Uchiha sitting on the opposite side. And between the two boys was Sakura.

As if feeling his gaze, Sakura looked over at Ryu. She had a uncharacteristically tired look, but other than that, the pinkette looked normal. Her pale jade eyes had a bit of anxiety in them, but that was to be expected, right? Her lips twitched up into a small smile.

Ryu returned her small smile with one of his own. For a moment he thought of kicking Sasuke out of his seat, but that was a stupid idea he quickly dismissed. Turning away, Ryu found there was a seat beside of Hinata. He walked over to her, sitting down in the unoccupied seat.

"Hey, Hinata," Ryu said, giving her a small smile like he had Sakura.

"Hello, Ryu." Her smile wasn't so much small as it was simply shy, but she did smile. "It looks like Naruto passed after all. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, it is." Ryu looked over his shoulder at his blond friend. "I'm not sure what Naruto would do if he couldn't be a ninja. I think that would tear him to pieces."

Hinata was nodding in agreement when Ryu turned around. "He sure seemed happy when he walked in. I think knowing he's a ninja is the happiest thing for him."

"Yeah, I bet you're ri-"

"Good morning, class." The scarred chunin had finally arrived, a clipboard in his hands. He smiled proudly at his old students, looking over every single one of them. Was he wondering if this would be the last time he'd see them? "Congratulation on becoming genin!"

The class roared with excitement, causing Iruka to laugh. It took him a few moments to finally calm them down.

With the smile still on his face, he said, "Starting today, all of you are shinobi." Even his voice showed he was proud about his students. "But you all are still genin. The hard journey that lies ahead has just started. Now you will get missions to help the village. So now we will create three man teams, and each team will have a jounin sensei. You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions."

Ryu's eyes narrowed as he quickly did the math. "But, Iruka-sensei, there's thirty-one kids. There would have to be nine groups of three and one with four members."

Iruka nodded. "You are correct, Ryu. One team will have an extra member," he said. "Speaking of the teams, how about we get started?"

As Iruka began going through the team, Ryu hoped he would be in a team with either Naruto or Sakura. It would be amazing if he was with both of them. With this hope burning strong, Ryu listened intently to the names called.

"Team seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno-"

Naruto threw his hands up in a sign of happiness, which caused Ryu to roll his eyes. He knew that his friend had a crush on Sakura as well. It was the reason he hadn't told Naruto about his own crush. He didn't want it to tear them apart or anything.

The realization that both kids were together hit him. That was both his closest friends. Would he be the next person? He had to be. After all, fate couldn't hate him that much, right?

-"and Sasuke Uchiha."

Ryu felt his heart sink. Sasuke Uchiha? Out of all the people his friends had to be paired with, it was Sasuke Uchiha! The guy who couldn't care less about anyone but himself. He was too consumed with his own anger to worry about others. Sasuke was really starting to annoy the crap out of Ryu.

"Team eight: Hinata Hyuuga-"

The girl beside of Ryu tensed, her eyes going from Naruto to Iruka. She looked nervous, but she listened intently for her two team mates.

-"Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."

"Nice team," Ryu said. "You guys will probably go far."

He announced team nine, which consisted of people he didn't exactly know. There was an excited shout from two of them, though, making it obvious they were happy about their team.

"Team ten: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Ryu Sarutobi."

Ryu's eyes widened when he realized he was in a team with Sakura's old friend. He'd known Ino pretty well, but then they'd separated because of the simple fact that they both had a crush on Sasuke. He didn't really know either Shikamaru or Chouji, but he felt pretty good with being on Ino's team. She may be a bit bossy, but overall, she was a pretty good person.

"You are dismissed for now. Just meet up again later so that you can meet your respective senseis."

With that, everyone in the class began to leave. Ryu was about to when someone's voice stopped him. "Hey, Ryu."

He turned to see his team standing behind him. Chouji had been the one to speak between mouthfuls of chips. "Hey, guys. Can I help you with something?"

"We were all going to have lunch together. Want to come?" Ino invited.

Ryu was about to answer when he saw Sakura walking out. "I'll meet you guys in a little while, okay? I need to do something. Thanks for the offer, though."

Shikamaru was the one who said anything, and that wasn't until after Ryu was walking away. "Tell Sakura Ino said hello."

"Don't tell her that!" Ino yelled.

Ryu smiled, wondering just how long it would take his team to start arguing about something as he made his way to find Sakura.

****

Part of her was still terrified of everything. Sakura knew she was a ninja, but at the same time part of her didn't want to be. That fear still burned strong within her that something bad would happen.

That's what Sakura thought of as she walked down the path, searching for Sasuke. "Sasuke!" she called, looking around for the raven haired Uchiha.

"Sakura," a familiar voice said behind her.

When she recognized it, she turned with a big smile on her face. "Hey, Ryu." That safe feeling bubbled up within Sakura when Ryu smiled back and walked up to her. Ryu's appearance had changed since they first met. His physical features were the same, but the way he dressed was as different as hers. He wore a black short sleeve open shirt that had two straps near the top, a light purple shirt under it with a white stripe under the two straps, grey pockets, black pants with white streaks from the knees down, and ninja shoes. His headband was sewn into the left thigh, something unique among the other ways the kids wore them.

"So, you're on a team with Sasuke. I bet you're happy."

Sakura smiled. "Yeah, but wouldn't it have been cool if it was you on my team instead of Naruto?"

Ryu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Naruto will do just fine, Sakura. He pulls something off when nobody else thinks he can. That's the great thing about him," Ryu defended. "He became a genin when everyone thought he'd failed. Nobody thought he'd ever graduate."

Sakura was slightly taken aback, forgetting that he was Naruto's best friend. "Sorry, Ryu. I mean, I'd just find it really cool if we could be on the same team."

Ryu nodded. "Yeah. I would have liked to be on a team with either you or Naruto. Instead I'm with Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji." He rolled his eyes when Ino's name brought a slight glare to Sakura's face. "Either way, I'm sure you'll be fine. Even if I hate the Uchiha, I have to admit he has skill. If you can get him to care, you'll be as good as gold." When Sakura's glare turned to him, he smiled. "Sorry, but it's the truth."

Sakura glared for a moment longer before sighing. "I would still feel better if you were there. I feel…." Sakura paused, feeling weird admitting how she felt. She'd never really told Ryu about how he was the only person she truly felt safe around. "I feel safer around you. I know you'll protect me."

Ryu's eyes widened slightly. "Naruto and Sasuke will protect you, Sakura. You're their team mate."

Sakura pursed her lips, knowing her fear was irrational but needing to let it out. "What if they're not there?"

"Then your sensei will be."

"And if they're not?" she questioned.

"You'll have your own strength."

"What if that's not enough?" Despite her best attempts, a few tears escaped.

Ryu went to answer, but he paused. Anger flared within his eyes. "This is because of what happened with Shiro, isn't it?" Sakura was shocked at his sudden rage, and if it wasn't for the fact she knew it was directed toward Shiro, she would have been terrified. "I would never let that happen to you again, Sakura." As if seeing the slight fear his anger caused, it changed to a gentle expression. "How about this, Sakura?"

She raised an eyebrow as Ryu glanced down and squeezed his ring. A bit of pain flashed in his eyes. "I'm going to make a promise to you that someone else made to me. I rarely ever think of it, but it used to help me out a lot as a kid before I got to Konoha." This time when he looked at her, he smiled. "I promise that when nobody else it there to protect you, no matter what stands in my way, I'll get to you, Sakura. If you can't protect yourself, I'll be there to do it for you. This isn't just any promise. Sakura, this is my promise of a lifetime to you."

Despite the silliness of the whole situation, a sense of ease settled over Sakura. That strange feeling of safety that only Ryu could cause built. "But we're on different teams," she pointed out.

"Doesn't matter." His smile lost its slight happiness, instead replaced by sadness. "I'll find a way. I don't break my promises, Sakura."

Before Sakura could find another way to protest, Ryu turned, walking away from the Haruno. As he did, she saw him reach for his ring again. As he left, she could have sworn she heard him say, "I won't break my promise like he did. I refuse to."

Sakura watched the boy walk away, the mystery of his past becoming greater and greater.


	8. Right Before Your Eyes

**Okay, well, I have something to say about the survival training: it was not decided by me. I'm not sure if you remember, Silverwolf, but you won one of the contests I did, though I can't remember which one, and decided what the training exercise was. I can't remember your exact words, but I know it had something to do with a hunt, and this is what it created. I hope that you like the result. Oh, and a big thanks to my newest review (at Tonfa), Red Mist. Okay, well, seeing as this takes place around team ten and not team seven, I'm hoping for most of the stuff to be original. Including the survival training.**

**Okay, and if you haven't looked at the word count, I think I need to quickly warn you: I have officially beat my own record when it comes to the word count. IT'S OVER 14 FLIPPIN' THOUSAND WORDS! Don't ask me how I did that, because I am clueless as to how. I am so very sorry because I am sure some people's eyes will be hurting afterward. I somewhat proofread (as in using spellcheck on Word), so I hope there's not as many mistakes as usual. If so, blame Word because I trusted it and didn't go over it myself. Then again, at the same time you should still blame me for rushing and being lazy... And I may have messed up with the time of day that I fixed in the beginning (I'm not sure if I did it anywhere else in the chapter), so if so, please tell me. Oh, and I don't own Naruto or Right Before Your Eyes. The song belongs to Hoobastank.**

Slowly but surely, the sun made its way higher into the sky, bathing Konoha in a bright, warming light. The village colors were becoming more and more distinct as the light covered the place, making it even more beautiful than it was except for when the sun set.

The person who enjoyed its beauty the most stood on top of the Hokage building, looking over his precious village. Hiruzen's hands were behind his back, one hand gripping the other's wrist. His red and white hat hung over his face, blocking his head from the sun's rays.

It was in this position that Asuma found his father as he arrived on the roof. Instead of saying anything immediately, he walked over and just stood beside him. Asuma watched at the village he was sworn to protect. He would need to leave soon, he noted. At least before the sun rose too high. It was almost noon, and that was when he was supposed to go meet his new students. This was what drove the Sarutobi to speak.

"So, you put Ryu on my team," he stated, neither of their eyes moving from the village.

Hiruzen nodded. "I figured it was the best solution possible. You and I are the only members of Konoha who know of his past, and you have been teaching him for two years," the Hokage explained.

Asuma smirked. "I guess I should say thanks, right?" he said. "You gave me a kid I already know and three others who come from tight knit clans." Asuma sighed. "And yet I still have a feeling this won't be easy on me." He'd been reaching for his cigarette pack as he'd spoken, and when he finished, he put one in his mouth and lit it.

The Hokage smiled. "You're the one who chose to become a jonin instructor, my son."

Asuma exhaled a cloud of smoke. He leaned forward against the bars, wanting to know one last thing before he left. "You'll try to keep us away from anything that will bring up things from his past, right?"

"You know that I will," Hiruzen sad, sending Asuma a sideways glance. "You'd better get going, Asuma, if you want to get to your team."

With a small smile as a farewell, Asuma jumped onto the railing. He gazed down at the Academy roof, wondering if his cigarette would be blown out by the wind. The only reason he wasn't going the normal way was so he didn't have to put it out. Would this entire thing have the same result? Deciding to take the chance, Asuma leaped off the railing.

* * *

><p>Ryu stared expressionlessly as yet another team left with their sensei. There were only three teams left: team three, team seven, and team ten. The other seven teams had been taken by their senseis.<p>

"Jeez. Our sensei is taking time, isn't she?" Ino complained.

"Who says it's going to be a girl?" Ryu inquired, his eyes resting on the Yamanaka. "For all we know, it could be a talking dog."

"Dogs can still be either male or female," Ino pointed out, but she did look disgusted by the thought of having a dog sensei. "Is it even possible for someone to have an animal as a sensei?"

He shrugged. "Not sure." His eyes flickered to the mostly silent males of the group. The only sound really coming from them was Chouji eating the chips. Shikamaru's head was resting on the desk, but Ryu wasn't sure whether or not he was sleeping.

Well, it was definitely an interesting group. Ryu observed all this, trying to figure out just how he thought everything would turn out. Not only that, but who would their sensei be? And whoever they were, where were they? Ryu temporarily wondered if they would be the last to leave.

Ryu's eyes made their way to team seven. Naruto was restless, pacing back and forth in front of the desk. Sasuke sat in the desk he paced in front of, his chin resting within his clasped hands. Sakura leaned against the desk beside his, staring ahead at the knucklehead blond.

"Could you stop watching Billboard Brow already, Ryu? It won't change she's not on your team." Ino was glaring at her. "Trust me, I would switch her places if I could, but I don't think Iruka would let me."

Ryu, not for the first time, wanted to glare at the girl but kept himself from doing so. He was annoyed that the two kept on bickering with each other when they had once been such great friends. Ryu didn't understand how their crush on Sasuke could drive them so far apart. It wasn't like Sasuke liked either of them anyway. He kept his thoughts to himself, though, knowing it would just make everything worse if he express his thoughts.

If Ino was going to make any more insults directed toward Sakura, Ryu was sure he would have spoken his mind. He truly didn't understand what had happened to make her so cruel, but ever since she and Sakura went separate ways, she'd seemed to treat him badly just for knowing her. He hated arguing with her, but he had to defend Sakura sometimes. He still viewed Ino as a friend, but it was hard to show it when every time she spoke to him she somehow ended up insulting Sakura.

Luckily for him, though, it was then someone walked in. Ryu recognized him instantly, glaring disapprovingly when he saw the cigarette hanging from his mouth. "What are you doing here, Asuma?"

The elder Sarutobi smiled at his surprise, his dark eyes going over the four genin. He paused on every teen, finally resting on Ryu again. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I'm a jonin instructor." His grin broadened. "Team ten's jonin instructor."

Ryu's eyes widened. "_You're_ our sensei?" he asked in surprise. It just seemed too good to be true. He'd grown so used to having Asuma training him and had accepted that he wouldn't be able to when he joined his genin team. But now he was suddenly on his team. As he slowly began to accept this new possibility, a huge grin spread across his face. "Well, nice to meet you, Asuma-sensei."

He smirked, turning his attention from him to the other team members. Chouji and Ino were both looking at him, but Shikamaru was still either relaxing or sleeping. "So, you're the other members of my team, huh?" He sighed. "Well, I guess you guys can just follow me. We're going to have our first meeting." Without waiting for any of the team members to answer, their new sensei turned and began to leave. The three active team-mates shared a glance before following. Shikamaru, apparently more aware of everything than he let on, got up at the same time as Chouji and followed.

Team ten left for, as Asuma said, their first meeting. 

* * *

><p>"Yakiniku Q?" Chouji questioned, staring openmouthed at the building before him. Ryu was beginning to wonder if there was drool coming from the corner of his mouth.<p>

His eyes left the Akimichi to look at the restaurant before them. It was a pale brown wooden building with wide windows, showing green booths within. There was something resting on the table, but Ryu couldn't tell with his view point.

Asuma smirked as he glanced over at his team. "I thought you guys might like it," he said, his eyes resting specifically on Chouji. He began walking, the four genin trailing behind them while their eyes examined the new building.

Their sensei was apparently familiar with the place because the woman who welcomed them obviously knew him. He joked about the sudden joining of kids, causing Asuma to joke back.

It smelt amazing in the building, the scent having nowhere to go but into their nostrils. Ryu could hear sizzling coming from all different sides along with words that seemed to blur together. A few of them stuck out, but no full sentence could be made out between the sizzling and the other chatter around them. It was too loud, but he did enjoy the smell.

The waiter led them to a table that was in a corner rather than near most of the others. It was quieter, making the restaurant seem more appealing.

As they sat, Ryu saw what it was in the table. It was a charcoal brazier, tongs resting beside of it. The waiter asked how much meat to bring before taking their drink requests. "I shall return shortly," he promised before turning and walking in the other direction.

Asuma looked over all of the team members again, his eyes thoughtful. "So, how about we get to know each other better?" he suggested.

Shikamaru sighed, resting his chin against his palm. "This is so troublesome."

The jonin looked at Shikamaru, an eyebrow raised. "Well, seeing as you're so eager to talk, would you like to start us off?"

He sighed, looking at Asuma. "Fine. Better to just get it over with." He looked at Asuma expectantly. When nothing happened, the Nara boy said, "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Oh," Asuma said as he realized what was wanted. "How about your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and your dream."

Ryu raised an eyebrow at how quickly he'd listed those. "Is that just something all jonin instructors ask their students or have you rehearsed that?" he inquired.

He shrugged. "It's something they tell us we can ask to get to know our students. I thought it better to use their questions instead of thinking of my own," Asuma explained. "So?" His eyes turned from Ryu to Shikamaru, waiting for his answer.

As the Nara began to speak, Ryu looked at him as well. "My name is Shikamaru Nara. What I like is relaxing and not doing work. What I dislike is when I have to do work and troublesome women." His gaze flickered to Ino, a small smirk on his face when he saw her glare. "My hobbies are cloud watching I guess. As for my dream, it'd be too much of a drag to think of one. Everything changes, meaning I'd have to change my dream. It seems like unnecessary work.

Asuma scratched the back of his head, unsure how to react to his first student. "Well, you seem like a fun and energetic guy," he remarked, letting his hand fall as he looked at Chouji. "How about you next, glutton?"

Chouji must have been too focused on the thought of food because he didn't say anything about Asuma's obviously not-so-nice nickname. He didn't even notice Asuma was talking to him until he met his gaze. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can go next." He stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth before speaking. He was eating barbeque chips while they were waiting to get their food. He had to really like barbeque. "My name is Chouji Akimichi. I like barbeque chips, barbeque foods, junk food, and eating. I dislike it when someone calls me fat or anything similar, when someone tries to eat my last chip, and when they're out of barbeque chips. My hobbies are buying and eating food, hanging out with Shikamaru, and finding new foods I like. I guess my dream would be to taste every wonderful food in the world."

Ryu thought Asuma was about to just end this entire questioning, but in the end he rubbed his temple and said to Ino, "You're up next, Blondie."

She looked slightly annoyed at being called Blondie, and unlike Chouji, she expressed her thoughts. "The name's Ino Yamanaka, not Blondie, got it?" She glared at Asuma for a few more seconds before going on. "My likes are flowers and shopping. My dislikes are sashimi, that idiot Sakura-"

"Ino," Ryu said, surprised. He felt the instant need to snap at her and defend Sakura, but a look from Asuma kept his mouth closed.

Asuma slowly removed his eyes from Ryu as he realized he wasn't going to speak. "How about this? I won't call you Blondie if you agree not to say anything bad about Sakura. Deal?" he bargained.

The blonde thought it over before shrugging. "Fine, but you're the one who asked us, Sensei." She paused in her answers as the waiter arrived, giving them their plate of meat and their drinks.

"Meat!" Chouji exclaimed, grabbing the tongs instantly and placing about half the meat on the brazier. "There. You guys can have the rest."

Ino glared. "Don't eat so much you pig! You have to save some for the rest of us!" She sighed before turning to look at Asuma again. "Anyway, as for my hobbies, I enjoy finding new ways to impress someone and running the flower shop. My dream is for this certain someone to finally see me for his true love." She sighed happily,

Ryu glared down at his own hands, those very hands clenched in annoyance. The stupid crush on Sasuke was what drove them apart, and it was slowly driving Ryu crazy. "I take it that it's my turn then?" Ryu guessed, not even bothering to look up. All he had to see was the small movement from Asuma's head to know his answer. "I am Ryu Sarutobi. I like to train, learn more about Shogi strategies so I may win one day, and being up high. I dislike those who try to hurt my friends, people who betray others, those who break their promises, and people who obsess over stupid things." He gave Ino a pointed look, but she was staring at Chouji as one of the barbeques was devoured and missed it. "My hobbies are playing Shogi, hanging out with my friends, and watching over the village from high places. My dream is to just protect my home and those I care about."

Asuma sighed, leaning back. "So my team is made up of a slacker, a glutton, a loud mouth, and, well….." He examined Ryu, his eyes thoughtful. "Well, and Ryu."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't even have an adjective for me?"

The older Sarutobi shrugged. "Sorry, but no," he replied, reaching forward and taking one of the chunks of meat Chouji had claimed were his.

"Hey," the chubby boy whined, staring at Asuma.

"So, now that you all have introduced yourself, I guess I should tell you my name is Asuma Sarutobi. That's all you really need to know about me for now, though, because I'm not exactly sure just how long we'll be around each other."

Shikamaru decided then to participate in the discussion. "What's that supposed to me?" he asked, opening one of the eyes he'd closed to stare at the bearded man.

Asuma smirked. "Looks like you at least caught my meaning," he said. His dark eyes slowly traveled over all of them. "I'm sorry to say this, but you guys aren't officially genin." Despite his words, even Ryu had to admit he didn't sound sorry.

"What?" Ino shouted, her mouth slightly opening.

And for once, Ryu had to agree with the blond. "Asuma, what do you mean we're not official genin?" His eyes were wide with shock. Just the other day he'd been talking excitedly to Asuma about how he had passed and how he was finally a genin. Asuma had known the entire time that he truly wasn't and he hadn't said a word.

"Only three out of the ten teams are going to move on to become actual genin teams," he explained. "The teams will be given a test, and only those who succeed will pass."

"What about if there're four?" Chouji asked through a mouth full of barbeque.

Asuma shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes there are not even three teams that pass, but so far there has never been more than three." He leaned back, crossing his arms. "You aren't supposed to know about this beforehand because it gives you more preparation than the day you're given. That gives you an unfair advantage compared to all the other teams. This is why you are never told within the Academy that you didn't become actual genins after you graduate there."

Even though Asuma didn't look at him, Ryu knew that it was directed at him. He didn't show that he knew because it would also mean he was admitting to thinking of Asuma betraying him by withholding knowledge.

Everyone but Shikamaru looked at Asuma, waiting for him to explain the test. When he didn't say anything, Chouji prompted him by asking, "What's the test going to be?"

Asuma smirked. "You'll find out tomorrow morning when you come to meet me and take it," he replied.

"So we get absolutely no information whatsoever until tomorrow?" Ino said, living up to Asuma's nickname by shouting. She looked ready to strangle Asuma for dropping the sudden information on them.

He nodded. "We will meet in front of the Hokage's office at six tomorrow morning, got it?"

"Six?" Ino said, her eyes wide. "Do you not realize just how long it takes for a girl to get ready? Maybe these guys can handle it, but seriously?"

She was just too focused on Sasuke right then. "Ino," Ryu said, keeping his words level, "it'll be fine. Anyway, isn't there a chance it'll get messed up in the training?"

Ino looked like she was about to snap at Ryu, but then she just sighed. "Yeah, okay. I guess I am trying to be a kunoichi after all. I shouldn't be too worried about something as simple as that right now."

Asuma nodded in approval. "Well, I guess that once we finish eating you are dismissed." 

* * *

><p>Sometimes Ryu wondered if he'd ever be able to escape his past. Would it haunt him for the rest of his life? Or would he get his wish and escape it? Was the only true escape death? If so, was he going to have to live with it torturing him for the rest of his life?<p>

This was what Ryu wondered as he lie awake in his bed, staring at the white ceiling above him. Not for the first time since he'd began to slowly become himself again, he found himself being haunted by his past.

He'd had a dream of Shiro clawing at him, saying it should have been him. There was no way anyone should have lived. He should have been the one killed that day, not the one unknowingly so close to someone who could cause his death. It wasn't fair. He hadn't needed to die, and yet Ryu had killed him. So who was the one who should have died?

With a sigh, Ryu glanced at his alarm clock. He'd been sitting there for about an hour without even knowing the time. It was only two o'clock. He had slept for no more than three hours. "Go to sleep, Ryu," he told himself. "You have the test tomorrow."

That didn't help Ryu any, though. If anything, it just made it harder to sleep. It only brought upon the fear of the test. Becoming a ninja had meant a lot to him ever since he'd really gotten to know Hiruzen. Now there was a chance he wouldn't be able to become a genin. What would he do if he didn't? He would be able to try again, right? He had to be able to. It was only right that they'd let him if he failed. Hiruzen was fair with everything. He would be fair with this, too, right?

Although that slightly distracted him from his nightmare, his mind ultimately returned to it. Out of all the nights for it to come back and haunt him, it just had to be then. But what had brought it up?

Ryu wasn't sure how long he lay in his bed before sleep finally took him under, but a majority of the time he'd find himself in a place between sleep and wakefulness. In one of his dreams he was chasing after Sakura, but he couldn't get to her. It was like one of those annoying dreams he read about it books. Only now did he understand the extent of its annoyance.

_"You promised me!"_ she called back to him. _"You promised you'd be there. Why aren't you here?_

_"I'm trying,"_ he called back. He kept on running and running, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it to the Haruno girl. He watched as a silhouette appeared behind her, his sword drawn back. She was oblivious to it, and even if she'd looked, she wouldn't have recognized the figure like Ryu did. _Sakura_. He watched in horror as the figure brought its sword down. _SAKURA!_

Ryu's cry shattered the dream, breaking into a hundred shards of glass. It quickly reformed, though, taking the scene of a dense forest, two people standing in a clearing.

One of the figures, obviously male, was robed, hiding his features from Ryu. He did, however, seem oddly familiar. The other person was an elderly woman with silver hair, pale, unseeing eyes that made Ryu think she was blind, but at the same time, there was something about them that seemed to see everything. She wore a simple purple dress with long sleeves and sandals. She was pointing at the man, a disapproving scowl on her face. She began to speak, but before she could, everything shattered again.

This time Ryu ended up on the ground of a huge rocky plain, a cliff towering above him. On top of the cliff stood someone, but they were up too high for him to see them. The only reason Ryu could tell it was a he was because of the laugh coming from him. It seemed to shake the world more than the blue-black aura surrounding him.

_This world is mine!_

* * *

><p>"You okay, Ryu?"<p>

Chouji's voice dragged Ryu from wherever his mind had been. He thought it had been stuck in his dreams as before, but whatever thought he'd had was already drifting away.

He blinked rapidly, his eyes hurting as they begged to be closed. Dark bags were under his eyes, but he tried to look ready to face an entire army. He smiled at Chouji. "Yeah, I'm fine." Ryu and Chouji were the only ones at the Hokage's office, waiting the three minutes left until six. After that the others would more than likely arrive.

Chouji smiled as he stuffed a handful of barbeque chips in his mouth. "I bet you we'll be waiting here until seven for Shikamaru to get here."

Ryu chuckled. "You never know," he said. "Shikamaru might just surprise us today. Everyone has some surprise in them." He leaned against the building, blinking a few times to try and rid the ache in them.

Within the next couple of minutes, Ino appeared, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Her eyes narrowed. "You've got to be kidding me. I got up early and even left before doing my hair to get here another time," she whined, her pale green eyes narrowing.

Ryu eyed the girl, feeling irritation rise within him as the effects of his sleepiness made themselves known. "Stop worrying about the stupid hair," he grumbled, earning a glare from the blonde.

"How about you just shut it, Ryu?" she snapped. Maybe he wasn't the only one grumpy.

After that there was little exchanged between the three team-mates. The first time anyone else spoke after that was a lazy voice saying, "Sheesh. That atmosphere here is so dark it makes me look like a ray of sunshine."

Everyone looked at the gate to see Shikamaru walking in, Asuma beside of him. The bearded jonin was nodding in agreement. He waited until Shikamaru walked over to the other three to walk forward as well. "Well, at least I know you all know how to arrive on time," he said.

Asuma sighed when they just stared at him. "I'm guessing all of you want me to explain what you test is, huh?"

"That would be helpful," Ino remarked, staring expectantly at him.

He nodded. "Okay, well, like I told you yesterday, you guys are going to be tested to see if you're worthy of becoming genin." His dark eyes traveled over each of the genin. "If you win, you'll become genin." A small smile spread across his face as he looked at Chouji. "I may also treat you to Yakiniku Q again." That made the boy stop mid-bite of a new handful of chips, his eyes widening with joy.

"Guys, we've gotta win!" he exclaimed, turning to his team-mates. Ino glared at him, the two boys giving a better reaction. Shikamaru sighed in a way that said he was used to and exasperated by his friend's love for food.

Ryu was the only one who commented. "That's the spirit, Chouji." The other boy's sudden outburst seemed to lift the dark cloud around them. He looked at Asuma, the older Sarutobi surprised by the sudden flame within his eyes. "He's right, though. We do have to win this. So, Asuma-sensei, what's the test?"

He raised an eyebrow, meeting every students' eyes. Fire was beginning to burn within the three sets focused on him, the ones that weren't belonging to Shikamaru. He looked like he was ready to go back to bed. He felt a bit of pride he didn't expect to feel toward these groups of kids. Asuma had been truthful about what he thought of them the other day. He still wasn't sure how to describe Ryu, but otherwise everything he'd said about the kids was insulting. Now, however, they seemed to be ready to come together because of that flame burning within them.

Now if only they could band together in their upcoming challenge and realize just what they needed to do. "So, how many of you guys still play hide-and-seek?"

The question caught the genin off guard, surprised by his question. They stared at him, dumbfounded. The older male laughed, wishing he could somehow show them just how they looked. "I'll take that as none of you."

"Are you saying we're going to play hide-and-seek for this test?" Ryu asked. He spent a lot of time with Asuma, which meant he usually had a good idea of what Asuma thought. Now, however, it was like trying to get into the mind of a complete stranger.

He chuckled, enjoying the times he completely stunned Ryu like he had. "Not exactly, but close."

"This is going to be such a drag," Shikamaru complained, slumping against the Hokage building.

Ino nodded. "For once, I have to agree with Shikamaru. Hide-and-seek? That's a baby game! If you wanted us to just pass without difficulty, why not just go ahead and skip this part?"

"Because you guys haven't played hide-and-seek like I'm going to," Asuma replied. "As shinobi, there are going to be missions where you have to locate someone who you have no clue where are. Then you are going to have to capture them. This is your assignment."

"To find and capture you?" Ryu's eyes narrowed as he thought. This did seem more like Asuma. But there had to be a catch. It couldn't be that easy, right?

"Yeah, for ten seconds, you must have me either tied up, have your arms around me, or just something that makes it seem like you could capture me before noon."

Ino shrugged. "Piece of cake. All we need to do is grab your arm or something and we pass," she said, but her mouth fell into a frown when Ryu shook his head.

"It's not as easy as you'd think, Ino." He thought back to similar things Asuma'd had him do, only he hadn't had to find him. "When you're fighting a jonin level shinobi, you have to be prepared for a variety of jutsus and we're all less experienced in this than he is. If you use a jutsu against him, he has a wider array to counter with. Not only that, but jonin have more chakra and stamina."

Shikamaru sighed in annoyance. "Like I said, this is going to be such a drag." He pushed off the building, burying his hands within his pockets. "So, when does this begin? The sooner we start, the sooner we can get it over with."

He nodded in agreement. "If you say so, Shikamaru." Asuma's hand moved quickly, flying out of his pocket and then snapping his wrist. Something small flew toward the ground. Ryu didn't realize what it was until right before it hit.

A smoke bomb.

"Begin!" Asuma said, his voice ringing out over the shouts of surprise as the bomb exploded, sending out the dark smoke that eliminated their sight.

He wasn't going to let them pass without a fight, Ryu was sure of that. Trying to move before Asuma escaped, the young Sarutobi ran forward. He didn't let his eyes rest on anything, hoping it would help him notice even the smallest of movements. "Darn it," he grumbled as the smoke began to clear, revealing nothing more than his three team-mates.

Ino blinked rapidly, tears in her eyes. Chouji was coughing, apparently inhaling smoke when he'd been putting more chips in his mouth. Shikamaru seemed just fine, his eyes scanning the area. After a few moments, he sighed. "Looks like he got away," he concluded.

Ryu nodded. "Seems that way." He paused, trying to listen to any sign of movement around them. When he didn't hear anything, he sighed. "Well, I guess the best thing to do now is search."

"So now we just split up?" Ino asked, crossing her arms. "After all, this place is pretty huge."

Ryu sighed, running a hand through his hair. When he noticed everyone was watching him, his eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Do you have any clue where he'd be? After all, you are the one who knows him best," Shikamaru questioned.

Ryu eyed them, feeling strange with the sudden feeling of being the one they looked to. His gaze fell in a rare show of shyness. "I'm not sure. I guess you guys just need to look around."

They all just stood there for a few moments before Ryu sighed. "Well, I guess that's it then." Still feeling strange, he turned and walked away. With a shared look between the left over three ninja, they each followed before all of them going their own ways. 

* * *

><p>It had been about an hour since the search had started when Ino yelled, "Where the freak is he!" She glared around at the passing people, searching for the familiar bearded face of her sensei.<p>

She sighed, wondering how she could have ended up with such bad luck. First she started out with a team consisting of a guy who did nothing but eat, another who seemed to be lazier than a sloth, and then Ryu. He was Sakura's friend, which instantly irritated her. Not only that, but the tended to snap at each other because of her old friendship with Sakura. Why was it she had been stuck with the worst of teams for her?

And to tie it all together, she found out she wasn't even an actual genin yet. Her life had seemed to be going good when she passed her test. She would finally be a ninja like her father. Now the chances of that happening where slim to none because of the impossible task set before her.

Unsure what else to do, Ino walked over and sat down for the first time in the hour she'd been searching. She realized her feet were aching now that here mind wasn't so stuck on finding her sensei. As she relaxed, she tried to think of all the places she'd gone to and where else she could look.

"Meow."

Ino jumped when she felt something brush up against her arm. She relaxed when she saw it was only a small black cat. Its dark eyes stared up at her, and then it rubbed its head against her arm again. A purr emitted from deep within it. Ino laughed, running her hand over the furred creature.

"Hello there, little guy." Ino picked up the cat, smiling at it. It struggled, causing her to let it go. She expected it to dart, but instead it started rubbing its side against her leg. Ino couldn't help but laugh at its persistence. It was so unwilling to give up in its pursuit to be pet. She reached down and gave it what it wanted, the smiling not once leaving her face.

After about ten minutes of doing this and just thinking through more places, she got to her feet and stretched. The cat curled around her leg. Ino looked down at it, searching its neck for the first time as she realized she was petting a cat that may have run away. Its neck was bare, though. "So, little guy, where do you come from? You'd better return there." Without looking at the cat again, she began to walk in the direction of her newest spot to check. The cat stayed by her, still purring as they walked.

Ino found it funny until it almost tripped her. She stumbled, barely catching herself before she hit the ground. She swirled around to look at the dark furred creature, her eyes narrowed. "What the heck?" she shouted. "You almost tripped me!" Ino put her hands on her hips, wondering how many people thought it was strange she was yelling at a cat.

Deciding it best to keep most of her dignity rather than continue yelling at the animal, she picked up a rock and chucked it at the animal. It danced out of the way with its feline grace. The cat let out an annoyed hiss. Ino met its cat glare with one of her own. Unsurprisingly, the cat gave up first. With one final hiss, it took off as a black blur, darting in and out of the crowd.

Ino sighed, shaking her head. She usually didn't mind cats, but right then she didn't want to see any more cats. She was more on edge than usual, getting angrier at things than normal. Maybe the entire situation with her team was stressing her out more than she'd thought before. 

* * *

><p>"How many times are we going to check this store until you realize Asuma isn't there?" Shikamaru asked his team-mate as he came out with his fifth bag of chips in the last hour.<p>

Chouji pulled the bag open, a smile on his face as he put a few chips in his mouth. "Until we find him anywhere else," he replied. He offered the Nara a chip, something Shikamaru had yet to see him do to anyone else.

When he shook his head, Chouji shrugged and started eating them again. With Chouji now having a bag of chips, the two set off in an attempt to find their sensei. "This is such a drag," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Why can't he just be out in the open?"

Chouji shrugged. "It gives us more time to get chips?" Shikamaru sighed, bringing a smile to Shikamaru's face at the familiar action.

"Chouji, sometimes I wonder if you do all of this on purpose." He glanced over at his friend. "So, where do you think we should look?" Chouji opened his mouth, but Shikamaru cut him off. "And do not say anywhere that involves food."

Chouji's mouth shut, a small smile forming on his face when Shikamaru sighed again. "Well, we could always check at the gates or something. That is the farthest place from where we were, right?"

Shikamaru thought through his idea. "Yeah, I guess that could work." Deciding to make this work even more to their advantage, he went down the path least traveled down to see if Asuma may be hiding there.

As they walked, Shikamaru let his head fall back to look at the sky above them. Not for the first time, he began to wonder how much easier life would be if he was just a cloud.

"So, what do you think of our team?" Chouji asked, drawing Shikamaru back to the ground.

It took Shikamaru a moment to gather his thoughts, thinking over what he had learned from both their little time together and when they were in class. "Ino seriously is too loud, like the old guy said. Speaking of Asuma-sensei, I think he needs to just come out so we can end this stupid search. Otherwise he's not that bad so far."

Chouji considered his friend's words before nodding and putting more chips in his mouth. "What about Ryu?" he asked once he'd swallowed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guess he's okay. Though he seriously does need to stop fighting with Ino. It just makes her louder."

"I think he's pretty cool," Chouji said. When a thought came to him, he smiled. "It's strange remembering how he used to act before he was kidnapped."

He remembered that as well. Ryu had acted as cold as the infamous Uchiha, pushing everyone away and shrouding himself in a darkness impossible for anyone but Naruto to get through. Naruto had been the only one to get through his shields enough to make the Sarutobi show emotions. With Sasuke, it had been cold indifference, causing girls to like him. With Ryu, it had been a scary type of state where he was emotionless. Unless, of course, he was by Naruto.

He'd completely changed after the kidnapping, though. For about a month, Ryu had fallen into a depressed, zombie-like mode. None of the kids had been able to comprehend why, and Shikamaru highly doubted any of them ever would. The boy was just a complete mystery to everyone.

However, after he'd found his way out of that zombie mode, he'd changed drastically. Ryu seemed to be happier all the time, participated in class more, tried to help everyone he could, and was overall a pretty good guy. Shikamaru, however, had seen that pain from before the kidnapping, though, never leaving him even when he would laugh. There were still occasions the boy would lose himself into depression, fiddling with the ring he always wore.

Just trying to figure out how exactly he saw Ryu was troublesome, so he finally just stopped. "Yeah, I guess," Shikamaru muttered, starting to resume his cloud watching.

Before he could, though, there was a loud bang somewhere close to them. The two boys tensed, wondering what it could be. "Maybe it's Asuma-sensei," Chouji suggested, his eyes slightly fearful. Despite his obvious fear, he still reached down and put another handful of chips in his mouth.

Wondering if Chouji could be right, Shikamaru quietly made his way toward the source. He realized it was coming from an alley when a loud bark came from it followed by another bang. Before Shikamaru could even get to the alley a black object raced out of there. It made a sharp turn and ran toward Chouji, throwing itself up at him.

Caught by surprise, he dropped his bag of chips and caught the thing. Right as it did, a huge hound came barreling out of the alley, unable to stop itself from crashing sideways into a building from its built up speed. It shook itself, preparing to run forward again, but then it paused when it saw the gathered humans.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru glanced back. He sighed in annoyance when he saw the black object was a cat, leaning into Chouji as its fur stuck up, an angry hiss emitting from it.

The dog let out a loud bark, baring its fangs as it snarled at them. Shikamaru glared back lazily, reaching toward his kunai pouch and pulling one of the needed objects out. He pulled his hand back and sent it flying toward the dog. It let out a bark of surprise, jumping to the side to avoid the metal blade. It watched it bury itself into the ground. It returned its dark eyes to Shikamaru, who already had another kunai out. Deciding it valued its life, it spun around and took off.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, returning the kunai to its pouch. He turned to face Chouji, who was pouting as he looked down at his spilled chips. The cat was still in his arms, watching the dog run off. He sighed as he looked at the chips. "We're going to have to go get more chips, aren't we?"

Chouji nodded.

Glaring at the cat, he walked over to the two. He grabbed it and placed it on the ground. "Shoo!" he shouted. "You just made this mission more of a drag than it already is, and if you don't leave now, I'll make you." When it still just stood there, Shikamaru brought his foot back and kicked it.

With a loud yowl, it scrambled away. It gave them a quick hiss before departing complete.

"You didn't have to be so mean to it, Shikamaru," Chouji said, feeling bad for the poor cat.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You do realize it was that feline that made you lose your chips, right?"

At the reminder of his lack of chips, Chouji turned and began walking in the direction of the store. "Man, why did you have to remind me that I don't have any chips?"

Shikamaru smirked as they walked. He may not really like Ino, and he wasn't sure about Asuma or Ryu, but as long as he had Chouji on his team, he could make it through his life on a team. 

* * *

><p>"He's not here either," Ryu said with a sigh, standing on a railing in a crouched position. He ran a hand through his hair, double checking the top of Yakiniku Q. "Where the heck are you, Asuma?"<p>

He went through a mental list of all the places he thought Asuma might be. He'd checked most of his usual places. So where was there left to check? No matter how hard he thought, none of the places he came up with would seem likely for Asuma to hide at.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a familiar voice yelled, annoyed by Ryu's sudden disturbance in their day.

Recognizing the voice, Ryu turned to the person with a grin on his face. It was an eight year old boy with short spiky brown hair, black eyes, and a chipped tooth Ryu saw as the young boy began to grin at him. He wore a pair of blue goggles on his forehead like Naruto had, a yellow shirt with a red Konoha symbol, and grey shorts. Ryu couldn't help but smile when he saw the blue scarf. It was something the child had done because of seeing Ryu do it all the time.

"Hey there, Konohamaru," Ryu greeted, ruffling the younger Sarutobi's hair.

"Cut it out, Ryu!" he exclaimed, stepping out of his reach. Despite this, there was still a small grin.

Ryu's eyes narrowed when he realized the boy was alone. "So, where is Ebisu?" When Konohamaru looked away, he sighed. "You're running from him again, aren't you?"

Konohamaru grinned slightly. "Maybe."

Rolling his eyes, he began to walk, the other boy falling into step beside of him. "So, have you seen Asuma anywhere?" Ryu asked, knowing it was doubtful. Just the thought of his luck being that good was funny.

This was proven right when Konohamaru shook his head. "I haven't seen Uncle Asuma anywhere." He glanced around a couple of times, more than likely searching for the very person he was avoiding.

"Being Hiruzen's actual grandson must suck. They didn't give me a bodyguard." With a grin, Ryu added, "Then again, maybe if I had, I wouldn't have been tainted by Naruto as quickly as you were." Ryu had whacked Naruto in the back of the head when he'd learned of the technique he'd taught the person Ryu saw as family.

Konohamaru smiled as he looked at the Hokage faces. "Yeah, he actual has you assisting in his pranks. I still find it funny you gave him the paint that he used on the Hokage monument."

A small smile spread across Ryu's face. He wasn't sure what he considered Ryu. A majority of the time it was like he was his younger brother while other times it became strongly apparent that they weren't really related. Times like that were when Ryu would see him with Ebisu. It reminded him that even if he felt like Hiruzen was his grandfather, Ryu wasn't his actual grandson like Konohamaru was.

"We're being followed," Konohamaru suddenly whispered, glancing behind them.

Ryu raised an eyebrow, letting his senses open as he tried to feel an energy. When he didn't, he began glancing at the windows around them to see if he could see their reflection. "Turn right up ahead," he whispered back, glancing at it with his eyes to help Konohamaru realize which he was speaking about.

The two did just that, walking into an alley that few took as a short cut to the hospital. Ryu sighed when he saw what it was. "Konohamaru, you realize that is just a cat, right?"

His eyes narrowing, the small boy glanced back. He pointed accusingly at it. "No way!" he cried as he glared at the black cat staring up at them. "I saw a person! They transformed!"

Ryu laughed, used to his burning spirit. He ruffled his hair, earning a whine of protest. "I think you're just too paranoid and afraid that Ebisu will find you."

He shook his head. "No, I'm sure of it. There was no cat behind us."

Shaking his head and sighing in exasperation, Ryu made his way to the black cat that had, according to Konohamaru, been following them. "Hey there, kitty." He bent down, running his hand through the soft fur. "You lost?"

His only response was a "meow." It turned and began walking away, flicking its tail back and forth in the air. Glancing back at Konohamaru, he said, "Want to follow it? For all we know, it might be backwards and be good luck."

Looking cautious, the brown haired boy fell back into step beside of Ryu. Just as he'd suggested, they began to follow the black cat. More than once they lost it, but almost instantly they'd find it again.

"Why are you looking for Uncle Asuma again?"

While he glanced around for said man, he replied, "It's something related to me being a genin." Ryu looked forward again, coming to a sudden stop. "The cat's gone."

Konohamaru looked forward as well, frowning when he saw that his friend was correct. "I thought you were watching it."

He sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "Well, I guess the plan of following the cat is now gone." Ryu searched the surrounding area, but the cat had more or less vanished. There was no small black fur ball around.

"Ryu!" Konohamaru suddenly exclaimed. He grabbed the elder Sarutobi's arm and pointed. "I see him."

He looked instantly, spinning on his heel to see if he was talking about the very person he thought he was.

Just as Konohamaru said, a figure stood there as a silhouette against the sun. Ryu squinted, and as he did, some features became visible. Black hair, black eyes, and a black beard covering the bottom part of his face. A jonin outfit, the headband on his forehead signifying he was a Konoha shinobi.

"Asuma!" Ryu called, adding chakra to his legs as he rocketed into the sky. He grabbed a window seal, and then shot off the building to another nearby. He continued this process until he did a front flip onto the rooftop Asuma had been on. The only problem was he no longer was. The Sarutobi child swirled around, searching for the man he called sensei. "Asuma-sensei, where did you go?"

A flash of movement blurred in the corner of Ryu's eye. He looked over, seeing his sensei fleeing across the rooftops. His lips set in a determined line, he took off across the buildings just as Asuma had.

He watched as Asuma jumped off the edge of the last building by the Konoha gate. Unable to see him and fearing he'd lose him, Ryu picked up his speed. He stopped at the edge of the building, looking around for the bearded man.

What he saw instead surprised him. From both sides of the buildings, his team-mates ran into the open area of the Konoha gate, looking around. Chouji was doubled over, resting his hands against his knees as he gasped for breath. Both Shikamaru and Ino had slight signs of fatigue, but not to the extent of the Akimichi. His eyes narrowed. Had they seen Asuma as well?

Knowing there was only one way to get his answer, the slightly tired Sarutobi jumped off the edge of the building. He landed in a crouch, causing Chouji to yelp in surprise and stumble back. In doing so, he tripped over his own scarf. He hit the ground with hard enough impact Ryu winced.

"Sorry." Ryu extended his hand, smiling apologetically at his new team-mate. When Chouji grasped his hand, he pulled the heavy boy up. With that done, he turned to the others of his team. "Were you all chasing Asuma as well?"

Ino and Shikamaru nodded. "I saw him on the roofs and just started running after him."

"Same for us," Chouji said, glancing around for their sensei. "But now it seems like ever since he jumped, he's disappeared."

With a calculating expression, Shikamaru's eyes roamed every building. "It would be impossible for him to be too far from here. For all we know, he's watching us now." 

* * *

><p>Asuma smirked when he heard Shikamaru's latest comment. What made it funny was the fact it was try. From his spot in the only alley not directly in their point of view, he watched the four genin.<p>

They'd taken the bait and followed him. Now the group was all together. If they'd understand what he wanted, though, was beyond him. He wasn't sure about the minds of Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino, but at times he thought it seemed like someone had programmed Ryu's mind for war. Would that help him to understand just what to do?

With that thought still fresh in his mind, the jonin turned and brought his hands together. In a poof of smoke, Asuma vanished from his spot to return to his original one. 

* * *

><p>Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Ryu looked at the other members of squad ten. "So, other than just now, have any of you guys caught glimpses of Asuma?"<p>

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. We've been a little busy getting more chips." He gave the bag in Chouji's hand, now half full from the chips falling out when he fell, a pointed look. He slouched against a wall, his eyes moving to Ino as they waited for her answer.

"The first time I saw him was the same time you all did," she replied.

The frustration of the teens grew with each passing second. They were no closer to discovering their sensei's hiding place than they'd been to begin with. "Does that mean I just continue searching again?" Chouji asked between munches of his chips.

"Is there anything to do?" Ino inquired, honestly wondering if one of her team-mates would come up with something. It would mean they no longer risked losing the title of genin that they had gained. They had nothing but luck to go on, and so far that was getting them nowhere.

Chouji and Ryu were silent, thinking through things they could do. It was the Nara who came up with something first. "We could always share where we've been so we know where not to check," he suggested.

It was a good idea that, but Ryu instantly found a flaw. "What if he just roams around and runs when he sees us close by? Or what if he's changing where his hiding place is?"

Shikamaru thought it over and nodded. "You're right about that, but if we tell each other what all we saw, then maybe we'll be able to connect some dots."

The reasoning was also very good. Ryu tried to look for a flaw, but shrugged when he couldn't. It wasn't going to hurt anything, and it could also be as productive as Shikamaru made it sound.

"Okay. Who wants to start?"

After a few moments of silence, Ino said, "Fine, I guess I'll go." The two males listened intently as Ino ran through what all she'd seen and where all she'd gone. Chouji seemed to listen slightly, but overall he was just eating his chips and letting Ryu and Shikamaru listen.

After she was done, Shikamaru volunteered Chouji to describe their search. He went from when they'd begun to them walking toward the gate. Glaring down at his nearly empty bag of chips, he said, "We would have got here sooner, but some black cat ran up to me and made me drop my last bag of chips. We were toward the gate again after buying more chips when we saw Asuma-sensei."

Ryu was unable to stop the chuckle when he heard about Chouji's encounter with a black cat. "That's some coincidence," he said. "Konohamaru and I were actually following a black cat for the fun of it." His eyes narrowed as he thought back. "The little guy was fast. I looked away for a moment and then he was suddenly gone."

"That's slightly freaky," Ino said, "because I saw a black cat as well while looking for Asuma."

Ryu's eyes widened as he suddenly thought of something. "There is no freaking way," he murmured to himself.

"What?" Ino asked, catching his murmured voice.

He looked at the girl, trying to think about whether or not he'd felt the familiar presence of Asuma-sensei and somehow missed it as he said, "When Konohamaru and I were searching for Asuma, he said someone was following us. I tried to figure it out by going down the alley that led to the hospital, but it was just the black cat."

Ino shrugged. "So? What's so unbelievable about that?"

Ryu tried to think back to the window, wondering if he had, indeed, caught a flash of black hair. "He told me that he was sure he saw a person behind us and said that they must have transformed. Do you think it's possible he was right?"

A thoughtful look replaced Shikamaru's usual lazy one. "He could be," he admitted. "Actually, you know him best, Ryu, so do you think he'd be tricky enough to do that?"

Ryu nodded without hesitation. He had no doubt Asuma could be tricky enough to be a cat so that he could watch them all without them knowing. "I never would have guessed he'd be that tricky." His eyes narrowed. "What I want to know is why he'd let us all see him. Was he not worried about us talking about it and figuring it out like this?"

Nobody had an answer to that, but there was one thing they were sure of. They needed to catch that cat. 

* * *

><p>"Find it?" Ryu asked as they all met up at the same spot thirty minutes later.<p>

"No luck," Chouji said, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth as he glanced at the other two for their reply. Shikamaru simply shook his head in response while Ino denied with speech as well.

The Sarutobi sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was a sign of annoyance he only did when he either really annoyed or annoyed and tired. "We only have until noon and it's already been about two hours. We have four hours left, but what are the chances we'll find a black cat in this crowd by then and hold him for ten seconds?"

The four team-mates set out again. Like before, they met up in half an hour. This continued for about another hour before any progress was made.

"I saw it!" Chouji exclaimed, running to meet the others.

"You did?" Ryu said, feeling a type of hope bloom within him. He'd begun to let it go after so long of not seeing their sensei, but Chouji's statement brought it all rushing back.

Shikamaru, who had actually stayed at the spot instead of searching for the cat during their recent search, raised an eyebrow as he looked at the chubby boy. "Oh really? And why didn't you catch it?"

Chouji looked slightly sad. "Oh. Sorry, I thought I was supposed to get you all first."

Ino sighed in frustration. "Well?" she shouted. "Where is the cat?"

Pointing down the way he'd come, Chouji said, "It was stuck in some metal wiring someone threw out the last time I saw it. I can take you to the alley he was in if you need."

"We should probably have someone come in from above as well in case it is Asuma. If so, he may try to escape from above," Shikamaru suggested, instantly looking at Ino and Ryu. "Seeing as I'd find it too much of a drag, I volunteer you two."

Ino protested, but Ryu's argument that the longer they argued, the more likely the cat would escape shut her up. They both jumped up onto the building, using windows, ledges, and rails to reach their destination. Once there, they waited until Shikamaru and Chouji began walking to do the same.

"We may just finish this," Ino whispered, obviously thrilled by the thought of passing and getting everything over with.

Ryu couldn't help but nod in agreement, a small grin on his face as he imagined Asuma changing out of the cat and announcing they'd passed. He quickly dismissed it, though, and instead worried that their quest to find the cat was led by false hope that it was Asuma.

They went past about four alleys before coming to the one Chouji had told them about. Ryu half expected the cat to be absent, having escaped the wire, which was why he was surprised when he saw the black figure still there.

"We've got the cat," Shikamaru said, not even bothering trying to surprise the creature. Its black eyes were already focused on them.

Chouji slowly approached the figure. "Come here, Asuma-sensei." Chouji held out one of the few chips left in his bag as bait. He looked ready to yank it back at any second, though.

The cat let out an angry his, batting at him with its claws when Chouji got close. He jerked his hand back, eyes wide with surprise at the cat's attack. "This cat's evil," he whispered to Shikamaru.

The Nara boy nodded in agreement as he did a quick hand sign. Ryu thought it was the rat sign, but from his spot on the building, it was hard to tell. His pale lavender eyes widened when Shikamaru's shadow began to waver. With great speed, it shot toward the cat.

For a moment, Ryu wasn't sure whether or not the cat would do anything as the shadow approached. Then there was a poof of smoke that blinded Ryu from the situation below. He smiled as their guess was confirmed. He knew that before he even saw the black haired man jumping up out of the alley.

A smirk on his pale face, Ryu jumped forward, Ino staying behind in case Asuma got past him. The jonin didn't even look up, letting Ryu grab Asuma around the shoulders. The sudden weight made Asuma cry out in surprise as well as make them plummet back to the earth below.

Asuma landed with a slight grunt, the impact almost causing Ryu to lose his grip. It stayed strong, though, and he began counting to ten in his head. Out of nowhere he suddenly stopped his flailing to rid himself of the younger boy.

"Shadow possession jutsu, success," Shikamaru said, straightening out of his crouched position. He smirked as Asuma mirrored his movements. Ryu quickly went through what he knew of the Nara clan. He believed that they specialized in capturing others' shadows, and as he analyzed the jutsu, he became sure that was the case.

Ryu smiled, happy at their success. "Seven, eight, nine-"

Asuma's sudden chuckle shut Ryu up. "I wouldn't be counting, Ryu. You haven't caught me yet."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? That makes ten seconds." He released Asuma, sliding to the ground.

"Yes, you caught me, but you never caught the real me." Before Ryu could question him, there was a poof of smoke. Coughing, he backed away, trying to stop any more smoke from entering his lungs. When it all cleared, there was nothing left.

"What the heck?" Ino said, jumping down so she landed beside of Ryu. "Where did he go now?"

Chouji began looking around, putting another handful of chips in his mouth as he said, "He seems to be very good at vanishing."

Ryu sighed. "That wasn't him," he informed his team-mates.

Confused, they two members began questioning his statement, but it was Shikamaru who answered. "It was a shadow clone, right, Ryu?"

He was slightly shocked by Shikamaru's knowledge of the jutsu, but he nodded. "That is correct." Ryu eyed the Nara, wondering just how smart the boy was. He had shown a lot of brains in the past few times they'd planned and seemed to continue doing so. Turning to the other two, he said, "It's a more advanced type of clone basically. And that means that we've been chasing Asuma's shadow clone changed into a cat for the past hour and a half."

"What?" Ino shouted, an incredulous look on her face. "You have got to be kidding me." Ryu thought she was about to hit him, causing him to step back to avoid it.

"Yeah, that's right." He sighed. "Guess that just means we have to start searching again." Ryu began to walk, but then an idea came to him that made him pause. "Guys, where all have you been looking?"

The question seemed to slightly surprise the genin. "We already went through where we've been, Ryu," Chouji reminded him. It didn't exactly help out any."

"I know where you've been. But when you were searching, where you thinking of looking?" His eyes locked with Shikamaru's, wondering if he'd understand what he was after.

"The places we thought he'd most likely be." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he got that calculating look on his face again. "So maybe we should start looking at the places we least expect him to be. But where would that be?"

There was a momentarily silence as all the genin thought through it. Ryu could think of numerous places Asuma wouldn't be, but he knew the older Sarutobi wouldn't hide in there. At least he hoped Asuma would make thirteen year olds go into the girl's restrooms across Konoha. Especially since only one of the members was a girl.

"Our houses," Ino said, her pale green eyes wide as the thought came to her. "Has anyone checked their houses?"

The thought surprised Ryu. He had checked Asuma's house, but he had never thought of checking his own. He grinned at Ino. "Nice thought," Ryu said, glancing at the others to make sure none of the others were saying they had. "If Asuma did know where we lived, he could hide there and we'd never even think of checking."

Shikamaru nodded his agreement. "It's the best plan we've got." He sighed, walking out of the alley. "This stupid survival training is turning out to be a major drag."

With that last, very true thought, the team split up once again to check their own homes for a new resident. 

* * *

><p>As Ryu was walking home, he saw an unexpected sight. He paused outside, an eyebrow raised as someone walked out of his house. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"<p>

The pinkette looked up, her eyes brightening when she saw Ryu. She smiled at him. It seemed like the Sakura he liked best was showing, her kind green eyes on him. "I was looking for you."

"Don't you have a survival exercise to do as well?" he questioned, still surprised by her unexpected appearance. First Konohamaru and then Sakura. The thought of Konohamaru made him wonder what had happened to the boy. His guess was that he had ended up being caught by Ebisu like usual.

Sakura's voice drew him out of his thoughts of his young friend. "Not today," Sakura said. "My survival exercise is postponed my sensei was sick yesterday and wasn't able to meet up with us."

A type of happiness built up within him as he realized what that meant. Sakura had decided not try and hang out with Sasuke in exchange on hanging out with him on her day off. "Sorry, Sakura, but I'm busy trying to complete my own survival training."

"Oh really? And what is it?"

Ryu smiled. "Well, I have Asuma for a sensei, so that alone should tell you that it isn't an easy exercise." She nodded in agreement, knowing of Asuma's skill from the couple times she invited her to watch them train and she had. "I'm actually here doing it. I have to find him, and I was going to check my house. Was he in there?"

Sakura shook her head. "If he was in there, don't you think I would have told you?"

She had a point, so Ryu didn't push it any further. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, if you see him, knock him out and come get me. I'm starting to really feel afraid that I'm not going to pass this test."

His fear must have shown in his eyes, because Sakura instantly tried to boost his confidence. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Ryu. Your team's not that bad."

Ryu raised an eyebrow, curious as to why the pinkette had said that since he doubted she thought it. She hated Ino and probably saw Shikamaru as a lazy bum since that day was the first Ryu had ever seen the boy show any type of knowledge. As for Chouji, Ryu knew Sakura doubted his skill. Ryu wasn't even sure what he could fully do, but he wasn't going to pass judgment on any of his team-mates. He wouldn't be that shocked if they all came around and surprised him badly enough that it would make sure he would regret underestimating them.

He nodded, slowly turning away. "Well, I'll find you after I'm done, okay, Sakura?" Giving Sakura a quick smile, Ryu returned to the spot where he'd once met with his team-mates, his mind wondering on what they could do as he walked.

The biggest problem he saw with splitting up was if one of them found Asuma, they'd have to worry about the ten seconds of holding on. If they decided to get the others, there was a chance that Asuma would move. But if one person did manage to pass, it meant that Asuma would no longer be where he once was and then the others would have to spend more time rechecking all of the same places for their sensei. The only way they could all succeed was if they all found Asuma at the same time, but that made it harder to find Asuma.

When he arrived at their rendezvous spot, Ryu knew instantly that the others shared his luck. Everyone, even Chouji who had not yet showed any sign of their training exercise getting on his nerves, seemed annoyed and tired.

"This is freaking pointless!" Ino exclaimed, crossing her arms. "We're never going to find him at this rate. We'd probably have better luck if we just split up again."

Ryu sighed. "But that would mean we each have to find him separately."

Shikamaru shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Doesn't matter to me what you all do. I'm just going to stay here and see if he walks pass. This entire thing is just too bothersome."

Seeing as not too long before he'd been thinking of how they would one day come around to surprise him, Ryu was slightly shocked at seeing his team like they were. They seemed so hopeless about the situation.

Ino glared at the spiky-haired Nara. "Fine, just give up! It's not like you could catch him since you move so slowly. If it wasn't for your kekkei genkai, you'd be totally worthless."

Ryu sighed in frustration. "Lose the temper, Ino. You're just making everything worse." He returned the glare Ino sent him, feeling his earlier grumpiness from before beginning to rebuild as the groups anger filled the tense air around them. His annoyance at their failure just helped fuel the rage.

"Stop trying to act like the boss here, Ryu. You're no better than any of us," Ino snapped, her own anger building from their lack of success.

Chouji looked between Ryu and Ino, distress clear on his face. "Just calm down, guys. Maybe we just need to think this through some more."

A glare from Ino stopped him from saying anything else. She turned away from them, letting out a frustrated sigh. "This would be so much easier if Sasuke was on my team. I'm sure he'd ace this in seconds and help us as well. Instead he's off in his own survival exercise. I know Sasuke would be fine, but with Sakura and Naruto on his team, he'll probably be forced back into the Academy. The two losers will just drag him down."

"Shut up, Ino!" Ryu lost his temper then, tired of the blonde's constant insults toward his friends. "If anything, Sakura and Naruto are the ones being brought down by that selfish jerk face you care so much about!"

Everyone seemed slightly shocked at Ryu's sudden explosion. He'd yelled loudly enough that his throat felt raw, the taste of blood in his mouth because of it. He was tempted to check his spit to make sure he hadn't yelled loud enough that he had someone made his throat bleed.

Ino's shocked expression slowly turned into a glare again. "You talk so badly about Sasuke yet I bet he'd kick your butt if you had to fight-"

While Ryu had been trying to calm himself down, Ino's previous words had suddenly came rushing forward in his mind. His eyes wide, Ryu interrupted Ino by saying, "Wait, did you say that they had their survival training today?"

Caught off guard, Ino's angry mask slipped again. "Why does that matter, Ryu? Or do you plan on going off the join them or something? Maybe you'd be able to at least give them a chance of passing."

Ignoring the anger that her comment brought he thought through what happened only ten to fifteen minutes ago. "That's impossible. Sakura was at my house looking for me. She told me that their survival exercise was postponed because they never met their sensei yesterday."

Shikamaru's previously bored, annoyed face changed to one of thought while Chouji seemed to slowly begin eating now that his friends had stopped yelling at each other. Ino, on the other hand, looked totally dumbfounded. "That's impossible, Ryu. I was with her as she walked to her meeting area. I was making sure Asuma wasn't trying to trick us with the whole us-not-being-genin thing."

The gears began to turn in Ryu's head. He looked at Shikamaru, knowing the other boy was thinking the same exact thing. "We know where Asuma-sensei is," Ryu said, a smile breaking across his face. Finally, after so long of searching, they knew exactly where their sensei would be.

Chouji glanced between his friends, his eyes narrowing as he stuffed more chips into his mouth. "How do you guys know Asuma-sensei hasn't moved somewhere else if he actually was transformed into Sakura?" Apparently the Akimichi had drawn the same conclusion as the rest of them.

"Because," Shikamaru began, "Asuma wouldn't have gone through the trouble of transforming into the person Ryu would least expect and trick him unless he planned on staying where he was."

Ryu smiled, nodding his agreement. He looked around at the group, wondering just how the anger and tension that had previously been there could disappear so quickly. Maybe, he thought, they could make everything work and succeed as a team. 

* * *

><p>The time was slowly slipping away as Asuma sat on Ryu's old couch, his eyes traveling over the room for the billionth time. It was small compared to most apartments, consisting of only a kitchen, the very living room he was in, and Ryu's bedroom. Everything in it was worn from use, and there was a faint smell of citrus in the air. No matter how many times Asuma had visited the younger Sarutobi's house, he'd never figured out the reason for the peculiar smell. The old green couch he sat on had a few holes patched up, showing the multiple times Ryu had accidentally broken the sewn surface. It showed, however, that Ryu didn't just get rid of things because of simple accidents he could fix. Asuma had once told him he was sure Hiruzen would replace the old furniture, but Ryu had argued he didn't need newer things when what he had worked just fine.<p>

Asuma thought back to how close he'd been to being discovered. He'd been watching out the window when Ryu had been approaching his house. It was purely because of that reason that Asuma hadn't had to abandon his hiding spot for a new place. He was also lucky that Ryu didn't know the details of Sakura's team or else his trick never would have succeeded.

The fact that Ryu was on his team was starting to really make the training exercise hard. The fact he'd shared his fear with him as Sakura had also made things worse. Asuma wanted Ryu to succeed as a ninja. He knew he'd make a fantastic one. But he couldn't just let him and the others pass without learning what they needed to do. If they didn't come together and combine their information, they would never pass. Not only that, but they all needed to hold him for ten seconds. If just one of them failed because the others had chosen to go their own ways and search on their own, Asuma wouldn't pass the team. They had to realize that only teamwork would allow them to successfully capture Asuma as well as allow them all to pass. Whether or not they would, though, Asuma was unsure. They had done so to figure out about his cat shadow clone, but would they be able to do it again to find out where he was?

Even more time passed as Asuma wondered just how the genin team would do with their task. Would he have to fail them? It wasn't like he hadn't failed a team before. He was just fine with it. He wasn't, however, used to failing someone he knew. Of course he'd have to, but would Ryu forgive him for it? Hiruzen, Asuma knew, would understand and probably try to explain it to the young Sarutobi, but he hadn't seen the betrayal in Ryu's eyes when he realized Asuma had withheld information. How much worse would it be if Asuma actually failed him?

Asuma felt the chakra a moment before he saw him. He shot to his feet, swirling around to face the back door where Ryu had suddenly appeared. Asuma was surprised at his sudden appearance, having thought his Sakura impersonation had fooled the boy.

A small smile formed on Asuma's face as he felt the three other chakras behind him. He didn't have to look back when he heard the click of the door opening to know it was Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. "So, it looks like the team's all together. Now what?" he questioned, waiting to see what his students would do to catch him. He almost laughed at his own thoughts from before. It looked like there was hope for team ten to become a true team.

* * *

><p>Ryu glanced over Asuma's shoulders at the rest of his team, a small smile on his face. They nodded to him, ready for their part of the plan. As long as they didn't destroy his home, Ryu was fine with the plan. The only problem was that there was a pretty good chance of something breaking.<p>

Chouji brought his hand together in an Akimichi hand seal that looked similar to a triangle, crying out, "Partial expansion jutsu!" As his jutsu implied, part of his body expanded itself. In this occasion, the part that grew in size was Chouji's arms. The brunette lunged, his arms ready to strike.

Asuma's eyes narrowed as he danced back and out of Chouji's range. He blocked Chouji's next blow, pushing him to the side. This knocked over the wooden table that sat in front of Ryu's couch. He mentally groaned, hoping the wood didn't crack or break.

It was because Asuma glanced down at the table that he saw what was coming toward him. Muttering a quick, unexpected curse, he jumped back and then to the left, his eyes now on Shikamaru's outstretched shadow. The crouched Nara glared, annoyed at their sensei's avoidance. He'd already explained that he wasn't sure how long he could hold a jonin when they fought back against his jutsu, and the fact that he had to make the jutsu longer made it even less likely he'd be able to hold Asuma for the needed ten seconds.

It seemed to become increasingly difficult for Asuma to dodge both Chouji and Shikamaru's shadow, but he still managed to somehow do it, staying at the very edge of Chouji's range while dodging the shadow.

For the first time, Ryu began to truly see Shikamaru's smarts as he began to do the next step in the plan. He did a quick set of hand signs before putting his hands on the floor. "Lightning style! Static field jutsu!"

At the sound of Ryu's voice, Asuma glanced back. It was too late, though. Chouji jumped up as the area around Asuma was covered with small amounts of lightning, traveling up the legs of those standing in it. And it just happened to be Asuma who was in that area.

As the lightning momentarily paralyzed him, Asuma jerked to a stop. That small moment of immobility was all they needed, though. Shikamaru's shadow locked with Asuma's, making it so the jonin couldn't move at all on his own.

A smirk on his face, Shikamaru said, "Shadow possession jutsu complete," as he straightened out of his crouch. His eyes narrowed instantly as Asuma began to fight against the jutsu.

"Guys, quick!" Ryu shouted, rushing forward to grab Asuma. Chouji did the same after releasing his jutsu, Ino joining the group only a second later. Glancing between the wavering shadow on the ground to their sensei, Ryu began to count aloud. "One. Two. Three." Ryu felt fear that their plan would fail begin to bloom as the shadow began to get smaller and smaller. Had the time Asuma spent evading Shikamaru paid off? "Four. Five. Si-"

Before Ryu could even finish the word, Shikamaru shouted in warning, "He's released!"

Right on cue, Asuma began to struggle, trying to get them to let go. He must have hit Ino, something Ryu was not expecting, because she suddenly hit the floor. "Ino!" Ryu yelled, beginning to run to her when Asuma laughed. What was wrong with him? He was laughing about hurting his own student!

Asuma glanced at Ryu, but for some strange reason, Ryu didn't feel like he was looking at Asuma. He felt as if someone else was looking through his eyes. "What's wrong, Ryu? Didn't you know of the mind body switch jutsu?"

Recognizing the name of the jutsu, Ryu relaxed, a smile on his face. Ino/Asuma looked at Shikamaru, jerking Asuma's bearded chin toward himself. "Get over here, Shikamaru. You have to start over again."

Smirking in what seemed like relief, Shikamaru walked forward and put a hand on Asuma. With a grin on Asuma's face, Ino began to count from one again. As she got closer to ten, the grin became contagious, gracing the faces of the rest of team ten.

"Ten," they all said at once, releasing Asuma. Ino let her mind return back to her own body, Shikamaru helping the girl get to her feet. The entire time Asuma didn't speak despite regaining control of his body. Instead he just smiled at the children with pride, his eyes going over each and every one of them.

"I never would have guessed when my belief you would pass was at its lowest, you'd come around and work together like that. Especially after all the fighting you all were doing."

Ryu looked down at the reminder of their fighting, but he had to agree with Asuma. They'd gone from a group of angry teenagers to a team who had worked together to capture their enemy. "Don't doubt us, Asuma," Ryu said. He looked at his sensei, feeling like he could fly with his happiness. "It's when you underestimate people you learn why not to."

The man laughed at that, nodding his agreement. "I feel stupid seeing as I'm the one who taught that to you, Ryu." With the pride still blazing in his dark eyes, Asuma looked at the others of the team. "I'm not sure exactly what to say to you all, but there is one thing I know I must say." Proving just how contagious the grin was, it spread across Asuma's face as well. "Congratulations. You all are now officially members of team ten."

"That means it's time to eat!" Chouji exclaimed, bringing forward Asuma's original promise from before. Everyone stared at him for a moment, and then everyone laughed, including the usually bored Shikamaru. 

* * *

><p>It took Asuma a lot of begging for forgiveness to get out of Yakiniku Q after Chouji ate too much barbeque, but he finally earned it. The owner promised, however, that he would have to repay the money he hadn't been able to produce from his wallet that day.<p>

Ryu watched him with amusement. The other three had left about five minutes ago, waiting seven minutes into Asuma's pleading before bidding them farewell and leaving. He grinned at his new sensei as he sighed and turned to face him, pulling out his cigarette pack as he did. He produced one of the toxic sticks from the pack, lighting it before sticking it into his mouth. Ryu glared at the red ember tip as the smoke curled off it, making a show of fake coughing when the smoke drifted toward him.

Used to Ryu's fake coughs, Asuma ignored him and said, "Remind me never to promise Chouji food again."

Ryu laughed at Asuma's statement, doubting that Asuma would ever stop doing it. They'd only visited the place twice, but it felt like it was part of team ten already. For a few minutes, the two walked in silence. It was a comfortable silence that the two just allowed to stay, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was hard to believe the star could still be there after their training. The few hours that had passed of them doing the exercise had felt like thrice as many as they'd actually been.

"So, you're finally a genin," Asuma observed, not taking his eyes of the path in front of them as he spoke.

He nodded, not knowing how else to respond.

The older Sarutobi glanced at Ryu, surprised at his lack of speech. "Aren't you thrilled about it?"

"I am," Ryu said. "I guess I'm still just processing the entire thing. It's so strange to have worked toward this goal for about five years and then just suddenly have it."

Understanding how the new genin felt, Asuma nodded. "It'll probably take a few missions until it finally sinks in. Once it does, though, I'll be sure to make you some special Soba for you."

Ryu grinned at the thought of Soba. "We'll probably be eating more barbeque now that it's team ten we're eating with rather than just alone." The thought of team ten coming to mind, Ryu glanced at his sensei. "Asuma, before you said you saw me as something that fits no adjective you can think of, Shikamaru as a slack, Chouji a glutton, and Ino as a loud mouth. Do you still see us that way?"

Asuma thought the question over before finally nodding. "Yeah, I still see you guys that way." Ryu was slightly stunned, stopping in his tracks for a moment. When Asuma was a few feet in front of him, he regained his senses and quickly caught up.

"What? How can you say that after everything?"

The man exhaled a cloud of smoke, chuckling slightly as he did. "It's easy. You didn't let me finish." When Ryu looked at him expectantly, Asuma continued. "As individuals, yes, that's how I see all of you. As a team, however, it is completely different."

"How so?" Ryu asked, stopping beside of his destination – his home. Despite the fact it was still early afternoon, his body was exhausted from the hours of searching for Asuma. He also needed to fix the living room that their short battle had messed up.

Asuma stopped, but he still didn't look at Ryu once. Even though Ryu couldn't get a good look of Asuma's face, he saw a small grin pulling one side of his lips up. "I see the team as a group of kids who can reach farther than any other team out there, helping out the others with their flaws and finding their way to the other's aid despite their differences."

With those final words, Asuma left, leaving Ryu staring after him. He felt a smile of his own forming. Asuma was right. None of the teens were perfect, but as he thought of it, he realized just how great the team as a whole was.

_It looks like I may just end up becoming a great ninja with more help than I expected, Brother._

Those last thoughts in his mind, Ryu turned and walked into his home, knowing that the next day his life as a shinobi truly began.


	9. Zero to Hero

**Well, to those of you who talk to me, you just how much trouble I've had getting this done. But it is finally done! I am so happy about that because there is a special gift in here for a certain someone who is officially 15 today:**

**There's a character in here who only people on Tonfa would know. Yuumai is the nickname of a person there and it was recently her birthday, so to be nice, I gave her the gift of being in the story.**

**I don't know how this ended up being so many words. I only mean for it to be about 7000 and 8000. I hope you guys enjoy it, though I feel like I rushed near the end and just screwed up everything. Sorry, Yuumai!**

**In this you'll see a different part of older Ryu that is similar to what happened to young Ryu. Anyway, I'd like to say thank you to the latest reviewers (from Tonfa) of this fanfiction: the birthday girl - JubileeOfPuppies, RowanRose, Shadow9000, and Shizake Uchiha. Thanks to all of you for your reviews! And thanks to xburner21 (from here) who added this story to their favorites.**

**_**Zero to Hero from Hercules the Disney movie**_**

**_Question for this chapter: Whose jutsu began to fail when they captured Asuma at the end of the survival training?_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eights Months Prior<strong>_

The Kogane Cave breached the otherwise forested Shira Forest. The forest was named after the beloved ninja of the nearby people who saved it with her water ninjutsu from a terrible fire. The Kogane Cave gained its name because of the plentiful golden stalactites and stalagmites within the cave. Peace settled upon the travelers who walked through the forest, some stopping to admire the raised rock that suddenly appeared in the middle of the forest, but most just continued on their way, oblivious to what was happening within its stone walls.

"Sentou!" The man who had cried out wore a dark green shirt with the sleeves rolled all the way up and blue pants. He stepped forward, his sandaled foot making a slight thud. His darker green hair fell in spikes over his face, slightly obscuring his vision. But it didn't make what he saw any different.

"Stay back," the one named Sentou snapped. He, like the other man, had dark green eyes and even darker green hair. He wore a dark brown jacket left open with a mesh shirt under it, black pants, and ninja shoes. In his hand was a short sword, waving in the air as he tried to stay loose.

It didn't seem to be helping him against his current opponent like it usually did, though. The person before him was clocked, making both their gender and their appearance unknown. Sentou was just slightly taller than the other person, but that was all that Sentou could tell.

The men and women around them in the cavern cried for blood, eager to see their great leader slay the person who dared show up randomly on their territory and challenge their boss to a battle for leadership. They hadn't given their name, nor had they even spoken once since they told the person they wanted to challenge Sentou. Despite hearing their voice, the person who had been spoken to had said they couldn't remember the sound of it. For some reason it just slipped the man's mind.

"Defeat this loser, Sentou!" one of the women of the crowd called, followed by similar cries.

Sentou sent them confident smirks despite the worry that had begun to grow within him. The man or woman he was fighting was obviously skilled, using nothing but a kunai to fend him off for as long as they had.

Before Sentou could deliver another strike, the person darted forward, using the kunai to push the short sword out of the way and kicking him in the chest. With a grunt, he stumbled back. Sending a glare at the person, he charged, pressing them back with a flurry of blows, recalling all the things he'd learned as a Konoha Shinobi. It had been years since he became rogue, but his abilities stayed with him. Was that what his opponent was as well? It would explain their skill.

Sentou lost track of the number of times they engaged in similar matches, but his arms quickly grew sore and his mind foggy with exhaustion. Pain flared in the dozen of cuts along his flesh from lucky strikes his opponent had gotten in. Other than the lucky strikes, the two seemed absolutely even.

They disengaged, heaving for air. Sentou placed his hands on his knees, resting his aching body. Sweat dripped off his face, making barely audible splash sounds when they hit the cave floor. He straightened when the other fighter did, keeping himself ready despite his body begging for rest. The person began to slowly walk forward, the torches scattered across the walls illuminating their features. As they did, his eyes met the other's.

He felt a pang of recognition. Sentou didn't know whose eyes they were, but he did know he knew them. He shifted through his memory, trying to figure out where he'd seen the eyes. They had a great meaning, he knew that, but he sucked at matching eyes to faces. It wasn't until the person spoke he knew who stood before him.

"It's been many years, hasn't it, Sentou? And what a way to meet."

His face paled, a tightening making his stomach uncomfortable. "Tenkei?" he breathed, the person before him stepped into the light, tilting back his head to that his face was visible. Both his eyes and hair were mirror images of his own. Tenkei's pale face was beaded with a few drops of sweat, but otherwise he looked absolutely fine.

It had been a few years since Sentou had seen his younger brother. He had gone away, sickened by the life Sentou and their other brother, the green haired man who had called out to him before, Haishin, had chosen. He wanted to be an honest shinobi, not, as he said, a pathetic bandit.

Yet here he was now, standing before him, challenging him for the role as leader. "Tenkei, why have you returned?" he murmured, unable to make his voice any higher. He was too surprised by the other male's appearance. "You promised you never would."

His lips twisted into a grim smile, a dark gleam in his usually light eyes. Something about him just seemed wrong. There was more knowledge in them than should have been in anyone just entering their twenties like Tenkei was. Sentou just couldn't place what was wrong, though.

"I have returned," he said, moving so fast he was right before Sentou before he could blink, "to kill you." Something sharp shoved itself deep into Sentou's chest, moving with practiced ease past the ribs and making its target.

Sentou let out a cry, blood making it sound like a mix between a gurgle and the scream it was meant to be. Darkness closed over Sentou, forcing him down. Right before he died, however, he saw black eyes staring down at him. As his eyes closed, the last of his breath leaving him.

Sentou, leader of the bandits of Shira Forest, died, his last thoughts on why his younger brother would kill him.

**Present**

Asuma relaxed on a porch step, the sun bathing his bearded face in a warm, golden glow. A cigarette rested between his lips, smoke drifting from the tip. He inhaled deeply, taking the deadly stick from his mouth only long enough to exhale the smoke before returning it to its place in his mouth again.

A grassy field spread out before him, the wind causing the tiny plants to sway back and forth like a sea of green. The trees sang with the dancing grass, the two almost in perfect harmony. Despite the few creaks in the wooden house behind him due to the wondering of the elderly couple occupying it, the music of nature was loud and clear.

But its great beauty was one easily shattered.

"GET THESE STUPID PESTS AWAY ME!" The feminine shout broke through the peace like a wave ripping over the sea below it.

From the only disturbance in the field - a large shed - a girl ran out, batting at black objects buzzing around her. Her blond hair flew around her as she swirled around, shrieking in annoyance.

"Hold still, Ino!" a dark haired young boy rushed out after her, carrying a huge bag with him. Another boy with brown hair quickly darted out as well, only he was trying to get away from the shed as much as the girl. He swirled out of the way, falling on the ground as he tried to move.

The whole time a third boy sat down in the shade of a tree, his eyes closed as if he was fast asleep. Asuma doubted he possibly could be with all the noise going on around him.

A small smile formed on Asuma's face as he watched the four preteens. Squad 10: Shikamaru Nara, Ryu Sarutobi, Ino Yamanaka, and Chouji Akimichi. Since three weeks ago when they had become a squad, the group had slowly begun to bond even if it wasn't nearly what Asuma would consider the perfect team. Ryu still argued almost as much with Ino as Ino yelled at the two other boys for slacking. Chouji and Ryu seemed to be friendly towards each other, and since Shikamaru had already been friends with the chubby boy, Asuma saw no problems there. Shikamaru seemed slightly iffy towards Ryu, but overall they were on neutral ground with each other.

There were flaws with his team, as there was bound to be with any teams, but he had no serious complaints about them.

And then there were times like the very mission they were on now. These missions that amused him to no end as he watched the kids try to figure out what to do.

*~*~*~

"Why aren't you just squashing them?" Ino demanded, swatting at the bug that dared get close enough within her range.

Ryu grabbed the bug that Ino had nearly swatted, just using enough force to keep a hold of it at the same time as not squashing it. Making sure not to release any of the bugs within the bag, Ryu added the new addition. "We aren't killing them because these bugs are needed to create a very hard medicine. It's rare to find an entire swarm of them, so the more we can catch, the better."

"This is so hard," Chouji panted from his new spot beside Shikamaru. "Why does there have to be so many of these stupid bugs?"

"They say that their swarms can have up to one hundred and fifty bugs," Shikamaru said, not bothering to grace them with the sight of his eyes as he spoke.

Ino stared, her mouth slightly ajar. "You have got to be freaking kidding me!" Another bug made the mistake of getting within her range. With a shriek of frustration, she began to furiously swat at it, not even noticing when Ryu added it to his bag. "Why are these dumb things so attracted to me?"

"The hair," Shikamaru replied. "These strange types of beetles love honey and tend to mistake anything yellow for it."

Ryu couldn't help but smile slightly when she threw up her hands and stomped away toward Asuma. He began to feel sorry for the older Sarutobi when Ino began complaining about him needing to help. Once again he used his earlier excuse: he was allergic to the pests. According to him he'd been attacked by the beetles as a child and ever since he got a rash from them. Ryu wasn't sure whether it was true or not, but out of faith he was going to believe his sensei was being honest.

Ino, it seemed, didn't share his opinion and sent angry accusations of him being lazy.

"Who do you think is going to win this?" Ryu whispered to Chouji.

With a big grin on his face, the Akimichi replied, "I dunno. It's pretty even. Ino has her voice, but Asuma has his own stubbornness." Within three minutes, Ino swirled around and walked to where the boys had gathered.

"This is just bull," Ino grumbled, dropping down beside of them. She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing in anger. "I can't believe he's making us deal with this stupid swarm of bugs that deserve to be crushed. Why could they have sent that bug freak Shino's team here to deal with it? That would have made everything easier."

"Hinata told me they had a mission that her team already had a full schedule and Naruto just left this morning for some protection mission that he was all hyped up about," Ryu informed his teammate, staring at the invested shed. Just how could they get rid of all the bugs without squashing a majority of them? There had to be some way. Overall they'd probably collected thirty or forty, giving them over one hundred left to go. There had to be some kind of thing they could do to get them all before the day was up. If they didn't by then, a different team would take the job. That couldn't look good on squad 10.

"Any ideas on what to do?" Ryu asked, looking over each of his team-mates. Ino looked like she was about to tear out her hair, Chouji was taking out a small bag of chips from his pouch, and Shikamaru was gazing up at the clouds, finally opening his eyes to do so.

It was because of Shikamaru's lack of participation since they began their mission that he was surprised he was the source of their answer. "You guys forget something - we're just not supposed to crush them."

"Trust me, we haven't forgotten about that," Ino grumbled, glaring daggers at the shed as if that would make up for all the annoyance the bugs had given her.

Shikamaru shook his head. "That's not what I mean. What I mean is that you're too focused on being careful and catching them once at a time. My question is how something such as your Static Field jutsu, Ryu, would squash them. Or how why you, Chouji, can't use your Expansion jutsu to make it larger to fit a greater amount of bugs to put into the bag. Not only that, but them being paralyzed would help Ino and I do something."

Ryu, Ino, and Chouji stared at Shikamaru, thinking over every detail of his plan. No matter how hard Ryu looked, he saw nothing wrong with the Nara's plan. Ryu began to nod in agreement. Ino found out next, but her reaction was quite different.

"Why the heck did you keep this plan of yours hidden for so long?" Ino cried out, throwing her hands in the air out of exasperation.

Shikamaru nodded toward their bag. "I was hoping you guys could capture all of them before I had to get involve. This mission is such a drag already. I don't know how I could have dealt going through with it for hours. So I just waited until you all were closer to being done."

Ino looked about ready to tear Shikamaru to shreds, but she held back, glaring instead. "Well, next time, do me a favor and speak up!"

Ryu wanted to agree, but he kept his comments to himself. "Okay, well, if we've got our plan, at least now we know what we're going to do. I'll go get another trash bag. Ino, you can hold it open while Chouji and Shikamaru put more in."

Their plan set, Ryu turned and began to make his way to the wooden house the elderly couple occupied. "Finally managed to calm down Ino?" his sensei asked, flicking the ashes from the top of his cigarette.

"Shikamaru came up with an idea to help us catch him, so that calmed her down," Ryu replied. "It's allow us to catch a lot at once, so we need a new trash bag."

Understanding his need, Asuma got to his feet and stepped to the side so the steps were free. Expressing his gratitude with a quick thanks, Ryu continued on into the house.

For some reason it smelt of coffee. Ryu couldn't figure out why, nor did he think he ever would. What was stranger was the fact that the couple that lived in the house were making apple pie and swore they hadn't drank coffee for years. The sweet smell of the apples, however, did nothing to prevent the other scent from making itself known.

The house had a cozy feel, the warmth in it bringing a strange tiredness to the young Sarutobi. It made him want to sit down in a couch and just fall asleep while the day slipped away. Like the house, most of the added furniture was made of wood such as the tables and visible seats. The counters were a robin egg blue color, making the golden walls make him think of a birds nest made of straw. A woman was in the room, washing the few dishes that the couple had accumulated over the past day.

"Hello," the woman said, turning to him with a smile. Her wrinkled face was stretched back by her cheekbones as she smiled, but the crow's feet on the edges of her eyes sparkling blue eyes remained. She wore a blue dress, but about a third of it was hidden by a white apron she used to protect it from the water. Her hands had calluses on them from hard labor in her youth, giving anyone who looked close enough a small idea of her past. Her hair was a pure white pulled into a short ponytail, leading Ryu to believe her hair had once been blond. Despite her age, there was a type of fierceness in her. It was similar to the strength that Ryu saw in Hiruzen. It was the strength of her heart. "You're Ryu, right?"

He was surprised that the elderly woman would go as far as to remember his name. "Yes, that's me." Ryu searched his memory, knowing that Asuma had said her name at least once. "You're Kara, right?"

With her kind smile still on her face, she corrected, "Karei, but close enough." She turned away just long enough to dry her hands before approaching him. "Is there anything that I need to get you for your mission? You don't know just how happy my husband and I are that you are doing this for us."

"It's our pleasure," Ryu said. "And yes, there is something we need. Would you mind getting me another trash bag?"

"Sure thing, Ryu." She walked over to a cabinet, pulling it open to reveal a bag full of house materials such as soaps, a mop, brooms, etc. One of these things was a bag of trash bags, from which Karei got the very thing that Ryu needed. "Here you go, sweetie." She handed over the dark bag, the smile never leaving the elderly woman's face. Ryu instantly decided if he were to have a grandmother, he'd want it to be here. Despite how nice he was sure her husband was bound to be, Hiruzen would always be his grandfather.

"Thank you very much." Ryu gave her a friendly, happy smile before exiting the house. Asuma was still standing, a new cigarette in his mouth. Smoke curled from the tip, causing Ryu to cough when the wind blew it back at him. "You would think since I've had to deal with your smoke for so long, I would be used to it. Instead it seems like it just burns more."

Asuma chuckled. "Maybe you should just stop breathing around me," he joked. "It wouldn't burn then."

Ryu rolled his eyes and continued on to where his team-mates were, the trash bag billowing behind him in the wind that had been breathed into life after he exited the house. "Took you long enough," Ino scoffed, getting off the ground. Chouji and Shikamaru soon followed, Shikamaru more reluctant than the other two.

"So, you ready?" Ryu asked, handing Ino the newly retrieved trash bag. The old one they'd had was tied so the beetles couldn't escape.

"I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be," Chouji replied, staring at the shed. "It would be nice to have this all over with."

Nodding his agreement, Ryu walked toward the invested shed. The doors had been shut to prevent any of the free beetles from fleeing the building when they needed them for medicine. Upon arriving at the building, Ryu opened the door about an inch so he had a view of the insects. It was full with farming equipment for a farm that they had once had, ending their tradition of having a spring garden the prior year. About three fourth of the black insects had begun to rest on the ground while the other fourth buzzed around happily, occasionally landing just to take flight again.

"Most of the beetles will be stunned," Ryu informed the rest of his squad, lowering himself to the ground into a crouched position. He waited until he gained his balance to begin a set of hand signs. "Lightning style! Static field jutsu!" Sending his chakra to his finger tips, Ryu reached down with them to the ground. He inhaled quickly at the sudden lost of chakra, but within seconds it became a normal feeling. As he watched, the beetles became completely still, as did the ones that had momentarily landed. "Done."

With his statement, Chouji brought his hands into the needed sign. "Expansion jutsu!" Like their survival training, his arms enlarged to a great size. Somehow his bandages kept their grips on his arms instead of tearing apart. Shikamaru opened the door, and the three rushed in. The bugs shrieked and dashed around, but Chouji caught them before they could escape. Ino had already pulled the bag open, making it easy for Chouji to put them into it. Shikamaru captured any of the beetles that tried to escape as well as scooping up the paralyzed beetles and shoveling them into the bag as well.

Ryu watched his team move, focusing on keep his jutsu going. Beads of perspiration began to roll down the nape of his neck and along his forehead at the constant lose of chakra. He maintained the jutsu, though, refusing to be the reason why Shikamaru's plan failed. His fingers began to tingle from the constant flow of electricity going through them, something that only happened occasionally when he had a big area to paralyze like he did then.

It seemed to take forever, but within ten minutes the team had collected a little over half of the bugs and put them into the bag. Ryu'd had to call to Asuma a few minutes before for him to get a third trash bag because they could no longer open the one they had without releasing some of their captured bugs, but after that it seemed to flow smoothly without any other interruption to their silent work.

"I'm not so sure how much long I'll be able to continue this," Ryu told his team about seventeen minutes after they'd gotten the trash bag. His body cried out in protest at being in his crouched position for such an elongated time, begging him to give his muscles a break and stretch. He couldn't, though, without releasing the jutsu. It made it harder when the bugs landed in an attempt to put some distance between the humans and made him have to capture yet another beetle in his Static Field jutsu.

"Just a few more minutes," Shikamaru assured him, his eyes narrowed as he and Chouji labored to capture every insect.

Ryu nodded in acknowledgement, but it was all he was willing to do that wasn't focusing on his jutsu. With how much chakra it was stealing from him, he couldn't do much else without taking a slight risk of accidentally releasing the jutsu.

"We're almost there," Chouji comforted when he saw just how tired Ryu was growing. He shoved another handful of bugs into the bag, his large hands slowly sliding out to make sure he didn't mess up the bag.

By the time they finally did finish, Ryu couldn't stop himself from falling forward. His muscles screamed at the sudden movement, having grown accustomed to his crouched position.

"You okay, Ryu?" Chouji inquired, walking over to where he lay sprawled out on the ground. His hands had returned to normal the moment that they finished capturing the bugs.

"Never let me do that again," Ryu groaned.

"Well, finding just one swarm of these things is about as rare as a blue moon," Shikamaru said, "so you shouldn't have to be in the same type of situation any time soon. We'll just find another way to exhaust your chakra."

Ryu forced himself to roll over, glaring up at Shikamaru. There was a light smirk on his face. The glare quickly faded, though, replaced by a light smile. "What am I? The tool?"

"Until one of us says otherwise, yes," Chouji said, grinning as he pulled out a bag of chips.

Shikamaru smirked, reaching down with his hand. "And just think, we still have to mow their lawn for them."

Ryu rolled his neck back, staring at vast green ocean, then focusing on his lack of energy. He groaned, letting his body relax. "You have got to be kidding me."

****

The stars had made their way high into the sky by the time that squad 10 finished mowing the grass. Ryu sank to the ground, his body screaming in agony. "Shikamaru, I'm not sure I ever want to go through with one of your plans again if it sucks me of this much chakra," he grumbled.

Asuma chuckled. "It was a very good plan, though. You finally caught all the bugs because of it," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm glad about that, but I'm not glad of the sudden lack of chakra leaving me so sore!"

Chouji walked over to Ryu, plopping down on the floor as well. His breathing was labored from the work, but the lack of breath did nothing to prevent him from stuffing more chips into his mouth.

Ino soon joined them, Shikamaru already seated under a tree. Lights blazed behind him, casting shadows that dance every time the illumination from the house shifted. Even from their spot about fifty feet from the house Ryu was sure he smelt the coffee aroma from the building.

"I'd ask if any of you are up for barbeque, but I think you're all too tired to really eat and they may just be closed," Asuma informed them, standing behind the four as he looked up at the stars. "You guys did well, though. I wasn't sure it was possible, but you guys may just become a team yet."

Ryu scoffed. "With how much we argue, that'll happen in about a million years at least."

"We're not that bad," Ino argued. Ryu couldn't help but laugh, Ino just helping to prove his point by instantly disagreeing.

Ryu grinned when she glared at him. His gaze returned to the towering stars, looking so close but obviously so far away. They would need to go home soon, he knew. They were probably already overstaying their welcome being there after their mission was done. Then again, Karei and her husband seemed welcoming enough. They'd even invited the squad to have dinner with them. Knowing of Chouji's abnormally large appetite, though, they had declined in order to save them from running out of food. This, of course, disappointed the large-framed Akimichi, but Asuma promising him to buy him more barbeque chips the following day helped sate his hunger.

Until they had to leave, Ryu was content to just stare at the stars. There were billions of them sparkling in the darkness. More than once he'd heard of legend that referred to the stars being spirits. If that was so, was he being watched? Was he being guided by these strange souls placed over them?

_Are you watching me right now?_ Ryu wondered, feeling a sense of peace at the thought. Then a saddening thought came to him. _Or are you truly gone?_

****

"This is such a drag."

Hearing that familiar phrase, Ryu looked up. The sun was raising high into the sky as noon quickly approached. Konoha citizens filled the crowded streets, either shopping or getting their lunch. Little kids ran around, shrieking as another kid chased them. Heat caused perspiration on the many villagers as the sun beamed down on the village.

And walking right in front of him was Shikamaru. His hands were buried within his pockets. The Nara was letting his head hang back, giving him a clear view of the few clouds that drifted through the sky.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Ryu said, raising his voice just enough for the other boy to hear. The two boys weren't too close, but they weren't exactly enemies. The only one on his squad he really considered his friend was Chouji. Asuma was as well, but he had been his friend/teacher since he was ten. Shikamaru usually hung out with Chouji and didn't exactly strive to make any other friends. The two boys were still nice enough to each other, though.

The Nara didn't even glance back as he said, "Hello, Ryu."

Ryu picked up his pace until he was beside Shikamaru, nearly running into one of the shrieking children as he darted out into the middle of the street. "So, what do you think our mission is going to be?"

"Troublesome."

His team-mate's response brought a smile to Ryu's face. "It will especially be if we have to clean out Mr. Hoshura's horse stalls again. Or, even worse, if we have to clean his pigs."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "Either way I'm sure it will be a drag."

A silence fell upon the two as they made their way to the Hokage's building. Ryu looked around at the place he called home. It was rare that he ever had to draw comfort from the village to rid the pain from the past. He still enjoyed the feeling, though. It let him know he had a home, and it was one of the things that fueled what he did.

Within a few minutes, they finally arrived at the grand red building. Ino and Asuma were already there, but the brown haired Akimichi was missing from the group. Ino was sitting on the steps, grumbling about the smoke coming off the cigarette their sensei was smoking. Asuma seemed slightly amused by her annoyance, but he didn't make any remark.

Noticing his approaching students, Asuma said, "Took you guys long enough." He glanced around them. "Chouji not with you guys?"

"No," Shikamaru said. "I think his dad said he was going to buy some more barbeque chips in cause we have another long mission like the bug one two days ago."

Ino sighed. "That idiot needs to stop eating so much. He'll kill himself before any enemy shinobi gets to. Not only that, but it'll end up getting us killed when he's more worried about his food than the mission."

"Don't insult Chouji!" Ryu snapped. He didn't mind people speaking the truth. He would prefer people only speak the truth. There were times, however, where people spoke what they saw as the truth too much and ended up eventually hurting someone. Ino was one of those people, and what made it worse was the person she spoke of was his friend.

Ino glared at him. Ryu truly wanted to believe it was just some temper gained from their continuous missions, but he wasn't sure. Whatever it was, though, it was making her temper flare much more often than usual. "Stop defending the freaks, Ryu! There's Sakura with her freakish forehead, Naruto with his freakish self, and Chouji with his freakish food obsession."

"Enough, Ino," Asuma said with an exasperated sigh. He walked over to her and murmured something neither Ryu nor Shikamaru heard. When he stepped back, though, they both saw the defeated look on Ino's face.

Ryu stared at the blond Yamanaka. What could Asuma have said to stop her outburst so suddenly and even make her sad? Ryu pondered this, trying to find the answer in her eyes without it being obvious what he was trying to do. Now that he looked, he saw bags under her eyes and a great sadness within the depths her green orbs.

A couple minutes after Ryu and Shikamaru arrived, Chouji made his appearance. In his hand was a bag of chips. For the first time since Ryu had met him, Chouji didn't have barbeque chips. Instead he carried some that claimed they tasted like pizza. From the budge in Chouji's pouch, Ryu was sure there were more, most likely barbeque, chips on his person.

"Okay, if we're all here, we might as well get started," Asuma said, dropping the bud of his cigarette and stomping it out. He walked passed Ino, once again stopping to murmur something to her. Chouji sent Ryu and Shikamaru a confused look, but neither of them could supply him with any answer.

Ino sighed and nodded before getting up and following their sensei. The boys quickly followed as well, Shikamaru in the back.

The Hokage's building was mostly silent. A few jounin and chunin were walking around, but there was no sight of the other two genin teams. Naruto's team wasn't supposed to be back for a while and Team 8, according to Hinata, had already been assigned a mission for each day their schedule was so packed.

When they arrived at the mission assignment office, Iruka was there along with the Hokage. A smile broke out over Ryu's face as he ran forward. "Hey, Grandpa!" He went around the table and gave the elderly man a hug. He hadn't seen him in the past week because of Hokage-related business that had to do with a recently caught criminal.

Hiruzen smiled in return and patted Ryu on the back. "Hey there, Ryu. How has your missions been?"

"Great! They're all pretty easy, but it's nice to know I'm helping the villagers any way I can."

The elderly Hokage smiled and nodded. "That's good." He turned his attention to the rest of the squad. "And you all? How are you enjoying the missions?"

"They're a drag," Shikamaru said right off. He was slouched against the wall, staring at the Hokage. "So what's our mission?"

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "For someone who doesn't like doing them, you sure do what to start it."

Shikamaru shrugged. "The sooner we start, the sooner we can get this stupid mission over with. I'd like to be able to actually sleep some tonight even if you don't Asuma-sensei."

Laughing, Hiruzen said, "Well, I can see that you're eager to get started, so we might as well." He glanced at Iruka. "Iruka, you may go ahead and tell them their mission."

"Okay, Hokage," Iruka said. He walked over to a couple of bags that were nearly filled with jars. "These are jars filled with the bugs that you all caught two days ago. They've been crushed so their juices can be used to make the medicine that they are required for. But there's also some ingredients we don't have in the Leaf. Because of this your team is to take these bags to the Forest Village on the very edge of the border between the Fire country and the Rock country."

He grabbed two of the bags, carrying one to Asuma and the other to Shikamaru, who instantly started to complain. After that he handed a third to Ryu. The bags were semi-heavy, but not enough it would be unbearable to lug them to the other village.

"These are very rare and hard to find, so don't let too many people know you have them or you may be dealing with theft. Asuma, you know the way to the Forest Village, right?"

The bearded jonin nodded. "I'm pretty sure I've been there on a mission before," he responded.

"Do you know of the Shira Forest Bandits?"

The Hokage's voice drew the team's attention to him. Ryu's eyes narrowed. He was sure he'd heard the name once when he was going through the Hokage's files, but he couldn't remember who they were.

"Bandits in the Shira Forest?" Ino guessed, raising an eyebrow.

This drew a chuckle from the elderly man. "Well, basically yes. The Shira Forest is a place you guys will have to pass through to get to the Forest Village. They're known to attack people walking through the roads and either recruiting the stronger ones or stealing their belongings. For about two years the Forest Village has been trying to get rid of them."

"Why hasn't the Leaf sent anybody over to stop them?" Ryu wondered aloud.

"That's a bit complicated," Hiruzen replied. "You see, they're a stubborn bunch who will do everything they can to deal with their own problems before they ask for help. And they are going to, just not from the Leaf?"

Between mouthfuls of chips, Chouji asked, "Why? Do they not like us?"

It was Asuma who answered instead of Hiruzen. "Some of them don't. They prefer the Rock country to the Fire country. Many times the village has had war with itself because some want to be with the Rock and some with the Fire," he explained. "There was a great debate, and in the end, they decided to have the Rock country help them rather than us."

"That is correct." Hiruzen nodded in approval at his son's knowledge of a place Ryu would guess wasn't too well known. Then his face became serious. "You all are still a genin team. If it came to it, I'm sure that Asuma could easily defeat any bandit that was stupid enough to attack you. I would like for you guys to try and avoid that, though. There are two different paths to the Forest Village. One is the shortcut and the other is a longer way. The bandits tend to attack the shorter route because many take that instead. Because of this I have to ask you to take the longer path. So, are you ready for this mission?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," they all replied with slightly varying timing.

As they all turned to leave, Shikamaru sighed and said, "Told you it was going to be a drag."

****

Ryu quickly packed his bags, only packing a bit since they were only supposed to be gone for a day or two. It made fitting the clothes between all jars a lot easier. He thought through all the things he might need and just things he wanted to lessen his load.

A small smile formed on his face. It was his first mission that required him to leave the Leaf, therefore being the first time he'd left it aside from the time he'd been kidnapped by Shiro. He didn't count that time, though, for obvious reasons. What would the Forest Village be like? He'd seen many villages, but he'd never truly gotten to see them because he was on the run.

He only realized a moment later he shouldn't have thought of his past at all. Memories he didn't want flooded forward, bringing a great sadness and pain with it. Ryu quickly grabbed his ring, closing his eyes as he began gasping for air. The pain was just mental, yet it left him breathless and trembling from head to toe. A great weight pressed down on him like it had before, threatening to suffocate him. The darkness of sadness had him within its grasp and refused give him any type of relief. All there was was pain and grief. All he could think was what happened. All he could see was the blood. All he could hear was _his_ voice.

_You'll never be strong enough on your own, Ryu. You'll always need to use your gift._

"Shut up," Ryu growled, wondering why it was so impossible to just completely leave behind his past. Some things were easily forgotten. Why couldn't his life back then be as well? After all, his life now was so much better. He had a fabulous family, even if it was made up with friends, and a home he loved just as if it was his family as well.

Then again, if he forgot about his old life, would he also forget the promise that seemed to be his fuel at times? Many times Ryu wondered why the bad parts of life were the most memorable. Why couldn't he just remember all the happy moments before everything went wrong? Was that so much to ask?

Ryu began to cry out of nowhere. He didn't know where it came from, nor did he care. All he knew was that it had hit him like a tidal wave, refusing to be held back. After so long people would think Ryu would be healed. But he wasn't. The scars were still there on his heart, just like they would always be. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "So very, very sorry."

****

It took Ryu about twenty minutes just to get himself together and rid himself of signs of his tears. By then it was time for him to leave. He had quickly packed the remaining things, putting them around the jars like a type of shield in case he accidentally bumped it against anything. After that he took off, once again taking the risk of running through the shortcuts invested with the demonic dogs. Somehow he managed to get through the shortcuts unscathed and to their meeting spot with just a few seconds to spare.

"That sure was close, Ryu," Chouji remarked, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth. At times Ryu wondered just how the other boy could eat so many chips without tiring of them. When Chouji had been asked, he'd been appalled by the very idea of giving up the chips.

Unlike before, everyone was already gathered with Ryu being the last to arrive. Shikamaru was leaning against the wall that encircled Konoha, Asuma was just now pulling out the cigarette, and Ino was gazing out at the forest with a distant look. Ryu reminded himself he needed to ask her what was bothering her soon. He wasn't sure how to help her if he didn't know what was wrong.

"You all ready to set out then?" the elder Sarutobi asked as he lit the tip of the poisonous killer known as a cigarette.

"Yes, Sensei," Chouji and Ryu said. Ino grumbled something that they couldn't hear.

"Let's just get it over with," Shikamaru muttered, walking out first.

Ryu chuckled as he followed after him. "At least we have a very eager and optimistic start." This remarked earned him a grin from Chouji and a soft laugh from Asuma.

Afterward they mostly walked in silence, only breaking it every once in a while to talk about past missions and what they thought of life as shinobi. The latter topic the spoke of a lot when they camped out that night, having a couple more hours to go before they would arrive at the Forest Village.

Throughout the night the team took shifts watching the perimeter just in case they were close enough that a stray bandit would find them. When Ryu's turn approached, he had to force himself not to sink into his past pain again. Instead he would fiddle with his ring while glancing around. Only a few times he took his eyes off the surrounding area. From his spot in a tree branch he could see everything to around the camp, but he had to look between there and what was behind him.

His dreams were plagued with nightmares of the past as well. Ryu hated days like that day that seemed to be filled with more pain than usual. They weren't nearly as often as before, but when those days hit, they hit hard. Multiple times Ryu was dragged out of his sleep stifling a scream into his sleeping bag. Other parts of the night he was trying to ignore his fear and get rest. He needed to be ready for the upcoming morning.

That very morning seemed to approach both too slow and too fast. Too fast because Ryu needed more sleep and too slow because he wanted to rid himself of his haunted dreams. Despite he felt like he was lacking sleep, Ryu still forced away most of the lingering tiredness so that he could get everything done. Asuma seemed to notice his occasional falter where he'd stop whatever he was doing because a new wave of exhaustion hit him because he approached him and questioned him on his wellbeing. Since it was Ryu, he lied and claimed to be fine.

After that they hit the road again, returning their journey to the Forest Village.

Ryu instantly began to notice changes in the landscape as they grew closer. The dirt path had become less worn after they'd gone left at a fork in the road, and from there it seemed like all the trees had been enhanced because they towered above regular trees, gigantic roots protruding from the earth below. More than once someone from their squad nearly tripped over the thick roots. A new variety of animals were beginning to appear, such as a deer with four antlers rather than two and a creature that looked like a mix of a snail and anteater. It was a strange combination, but that's what they looked like.

"Sheesh, this place is extremely strange," Ryu remarked, glancing around as a purple and green bird flew above him.

Asuma nodded in agreement. "It is strange, isn't it?" The group began to look around at the different changes that appeared as they began to get closer to the Forest Village. Shikamaru seemed particularly interested in the strange deer.

Ryu, however, was completely entranced by the birds' song. They were in complete harmony, knowing exactly what notes to add, when a new bird should sing, when it was its own turn to sing, when to lower the sound to near silence before raising it up again. The sound was unique, even beating what some humans could do. Ryu smiled, letting his hearing almost completely overwhelm his other senses. It was such a beautiful sound, something he wouldn't mind listening to all day. Ryu found himself surrounded by the beautiful music as it grew loud enough in his ears to cancel out the sounds of the other living life forms. It was so ama-

Before Ryu could even finish the thought, he heard it. The sound wasn't so loud he was sure that he would hear it if he wasn't so focused on his hearing, but it was quite possible that he had. Either way, he reacted instantly.

"Ryu!" Asuma called as he took off.

The boy ignored his sensei, though, running at full speed. As he neared the place that he knew the scream had come from, he gently sat down his backpack and continued onward. It was at a spot Asuma and the others would clearly see it but not close enough that anyone on the other path would find it. With that done, he hurried toward the sound. Running was difficult with all the roots sprouting from the ground and jumping over fallen logs, but he finally found the source of the noise.

It had come from a clearing new a little stream. It created a light bubbling as the current forced it over rocks, supplying a faint background sound. A few of the deer stood on the other side of the stream, staring at the thing that disrupted the peace of the forest.

The source was coming form a group of humans. Four of them were male and between twenty and thirty. One had blue hair, two of them had differing shades of red hair, and the other had purple tinted black hair. The blue haired one had darker blue eyes, a loose beige shirt, black baggy shorts, and ninja shoes. The two of them with red hair had reddish orange eyes, but their appearances were different. The taller of the two had nothing on but a vest, blue pants, and ninja shoes. His chest was a myriad of scars, making his already intimidating figure scarier. The other one had a short sleeve green shirt with the sleeves ripped off, sandy brown pants, and ninja shoes. The final one had on a zipped-up black vest over a short sleeve purple shirt, dark blue armbands, grey pants, and ninja shoes.

The female of the group was the one who had screamed, a small one escaping her again as she tried to yank her hand out of the grasp of the purplish black haired male. She was about Ryu's height and looked about fifteen. She had short, curly blond hair and pale skin marred by a small scar on her nose, her blue eyes complimenting her hair well. She wore a red shirt with sleeves about medium-length, black pants, and ninja shoes. In the hand the blue haired man wasn't holding was a necklace dangling from its chain.

"Shingi, get them!" the girl yelled.

It was then that Ryu saw the strange dog off to the side. Or maybe it was some other type of canine. Whatever it was, it was definitely new to Ryu. The thing she called Shingi had a combination of white, black, and light orange fur, as if people had thrown paint onto a dog to make it strangely camouflaged.

Obeying the girl, the strange dog ran forward and sunk its teeth into the leg of the nearest man, which was the one with blue hair. He cried out, glaring at the dog as he pulled back his other leg and kicked it.

"No, Shingi!" The young girl redoubled her efforts to escape their grasp.

"Just get this over with, Senshi. You're taking forever," the monstrous red haired one said.

The dark haired one simply sent a glare at the man. "I was going to give her a chance to willingly return the necklace before killing her."

The girl spat out, "It's mine!"

The man, Senshi, sneered. "Believe whatever you want." He reached into a pouch around his waist and produced a kunai. "Now you die, though."

It was then that Ryu finally reacted. He preformed a very quick set of hand signs, running forward while placing one hand on the ground. He focused his chakra into the ground and at Senshi. "Lightning style! Static field jutsu!" His energy traveled out the hand touching the ground and shot toward the other male. Ryu knew that it had been effective when the man tensed and froze, trying to force himself to strike at the girl. Growling, he, along with the other three males and the girl, looked at Ryu.

He was upon them before they could fully comprehend what was going on. Ryu ran past the girl and jumped up, drawing back his hand. The man quickly gained mobility, but the fact that he had originally aiming at the girl made him too slow to react to him. With a cry, Ryu's left hand shot forward. He felt his stomach churn when his ring dug into the man's cheek, taking off a piece of his skin. Without looking, Ryu shook it off as he landed. The shock of the impact caused Senshi to stumbled back, cursing as he grabbed his face. Instantly Ryu grabbed the little girl and started dragging her away from the men.

The first man to react was the blue haired one. He tried to rush forward, but before he could, Shingi made a reappearance, sinking his fangs into his shin. The man howled, shaking his leg in an attempt to rid himself of the dog.

By the time Ryu had retreated to the edge of the clearing, Shingi had been shaken off and raised toward them. It growled at Ryu, threatening to make him the next target of his teeth.

"Don't, Shingi. He just helped me," the girl ordered, putting the necklace around her neck as she spoke.

"Ryu!" The familiar voice made Ryu glance back to see his team quickly approaching. Asuma had been the one to call, coming to a stop when he saw what was going on. He cursed under his breath, reaching back and pulling out some chakra blades. Automatically a blue aura sprang to life around it. It was rare that Ryu saw Asuma pull out his chakra blades, but when he did, he knew someone was going to get hurt because he was in an actual fight.

Seeing the girl for the first time, Asuma asked, "Who's she?"

Ryu began to answer, but his mouth snapped shut when he realized he just didn't know. Because of this, he glanced at the girl expectantly.

She glanced between the two of them before finally saying, "My name is Yuumai. Yuumai Komichi, and this is my wild dog (1), Shingi." At the sound of his name, the dog barked.

"This place has strange animals," Ino remarked, giving the dog a confused look. "I've never seen a dog so strangely colored."

"Are we seriously going to talk about dogs when there's four bandits right in front of us?" Shikamaru inquired, inclining his heads toward said bandits. "I should have known this mission would be troublesome despite sounding so easy."

Asuma glanced at Yuumai, and then back at the bandits. He sighed, taking a few steps forward. "I might as well deal with this then."

"Asuma, wait." When the older man paused, glancing over his shoulder at Ryu, he continued. "I want to fight them myself to begin with."

"What?" Yuumai exclaimed. "Are you crazy? These guys aren't just regular bandits. They're the Shira Forest Bandits. They can probably killed one chunin when they're in groups of three. I don't think one kid will fare well against four of them."

"The girl's right, Ryu," Asuma said. "You have to know that they're stronger than you, so why bother?"

Ryu glanced down at his ring, remember the break down he'd had the day before. He took a deep breath, hearing those words echo in his head.

_You'll never be strong enough on your own, Ryu. You'll always need to use your gift._

"I have to, Asuma." With this statement, their sensei turned to face Ryu completely. He was extremely glad that the bandits were still assessing their new enemies instead of already charging. "I have to prove to myself that I can fight people stronger than me without resorting to things I shouldn't."

The rest of squad 10 looked confused, but Asuma instantly understood. He nodded, stepping back. "If it becomes clear your life is in immediate danger or you'll resort to _that_, I'm stepping in whether you want me to or not."

Ryu nodded in agreement to his terms. "Got it." He turned to face the bandits again, the demanding voices of his squad and Yuumai to his back. Of course they'd want answers. They didn't understand just what he had to prove to himself about.

When the bandits saw who they were sending forward, the bulky red haired one burst out laughing. "You're sending in a stupid kid? Sheesh, you Leaf ninja are desperate, aren't you?" He turned to Senshi. "Let me handle this kid, okay?"

The man didn't hesitate to answer. "Just make sure he suffers for hurting me, Toku," he instructed.

With a twisted smile on his face, the man named Toku strode forward, cracking his knuckles. "I hope you're ready to die, punk."

Ryu slid into a fighting stance, forcing his nerves to vanish. He couldn't let them control him or he was doomed before the fight even begun. He examined his enemy, trying to find out everything he could by doing so. When the man was close enough that Ryu was in range, the battle quickly started.

Toku was the first to strike, delivering a round house kick toward Ryu's face. He blocked it, but instantly his arms began to throb. The man's muscle didn't even show the full strength he had. Ryu growled from pain, dancing back and he preformed a series of hand signs. "Lightning style! Lightning snakes jutsu!" Instantly the snake-like bolts of lightning shot forward, slamming into the man.

But that barely phased him, only making him stumble back. He smirked. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Crap," Ryu grumbled, wondering how a bunch of bandits could be so strong. Once again his nerves made themselves known, making him wanting to turn and run. But if he did that, what would he prove? That he was a chicken that could only stand when he did exactly what _he_ wanted him to?

_Blank,_ a voice from the past whispered to him. Ryu went rigid, closing his eyes as pain rushed forward. _Blanking is what I sometimes do in bad situations. It's dangerous because you don't think as much, but at the same time instinct takes over and you don't over think things._

Would it work? If he blanked, would his fear stop holding him back from rushing forward and fighting back? Ryu had rarely ever practiced what the speaker had called blanking, but every time it had somewhat worked until he slipped up. Could he risk doing it? After all, Asuma would protect him if it looked like he would die.

"Hey, big block of stupid!" Yuumai called from behind them. Ryu sent her a confused look while Toku sent her a glare. Ryu would guess that was the person the insults were addressed to. "A turtle is going to eat your face!"

Toku stared at the girl, completely lost as she continued yelling strange, completely random things. What the heck was she doing? She was distracting him from-

Wait, that was it! Yes, she was distracting Ryu, but that was because he was letting her. The person she was trying to distract was the person Ryu was fighting, and he had yet to take advantage of it. Mentally thanking Yuumai, Ryu took a deep breath and let all his fear and thought disappear, leaving nothing more than a burning fighting instinct that was the very thing that drove him to rush forward suddenly.

The burly man jumped when Ryu was suddenly upon him. He jumped up, doing his own round house kick. When Toku blocked that, Ryu shot his other foot forward to slam into his chest. Toku grunted at the impact, but he didn't let it phase him. The bandit grabbed both his legs and began to spin, swinging him faster and faster before finally releasing Ryu and sending him flying.

The impact sent a shock of pain through Ryu, but he rolled to do a back roll, landing in a crouch. He tensed when he saw the man jumping forward, his hands locked together and waiting above his head to strike. Ryu launched himself back just in time to avoid the blow.

All the while Yuumai was trying to distract the man with her random, silly insults. One that finally made him snap came a minute or two into their fight. It didn't seem like a long time, but Ryu was already covered in bruises and scrapes and his ankle was sprained. His back throbbed from how many times he'd hit the ground and his lungs ached as they begged for air. His muscles were crying out in pain from the continuous use, needing but not getting rest they deserved.

"Hey, you thieving scum, why don't you return that ugly face to the hippo you stole it from!" she yelled, her wild dog barking whatever it thought of that.

Growling in annoyance, Toku snapped, "Shut up you little piece of sh-"

Before he could finish, Ryu was already at him, having finished a very quick set of hand signs. His hand was right in front of his face, a mere inch between his palm and Toku's forehead. "Lightning style! Lightning snakes jutsu!" The zigzagging bolts shot forward, getting the bandit so hard in the face it sent him flying back three or four yards at least. Blood dyed his face crimson, the only disturbance his orange eyes that seemed dazed.

Ryu fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Silence fell in the clearing, none sure what to think of the sudden development. "I did it," Ryu murmured. "With my own power, I beat him." Ryu's vision began to blur as exhaustion and pain pulled him down toward the darkness.

"Ryu, look up!" Ino called from the side.

Ryu looked up, wondering why fate hated him so much when he saw that Toku had gotten to his feet again. He held something strange in his hand. It was some type of pill that Ryu wasn't sure exactly what was. All he know was that he felt a sense of dread when he ate it.

"You're dead now, kid," Senshi said with a sense of satisfaction from the side.

Ryu looked over at him, and by the time Ryu looked forward again, Toku was somehow already there. He grabbed him by the throat and threw him up so that he was about a foot from the air. Toku's hands moved faster than any human's hands should have. They hit what seemed like everywhere, pain exploding like a solar nova. A scream ripped itself out of Ryu's throat, bringing pain to it as well from the strength and how long it was.

It wasn't until the last punch that Ryu flew back, rolling across the ground before finally coming to a stop on his back. His vision was edged with black, his body numb. What had just happened? What had the pill been? How could anyone feel such pain and not be dead?

Without evening checking on him, Toku turned to face the others. "Now, little girl, I believe you owe us the necklace you stole."

"You took it from my mother! It doesn't belong to you in the least," Yuumai shot back, sending him a glare. Shingi growled protectively, getting in a ready position.

Her wild dog did no good, though, because within seconds Toku was right in front of Yuumai, his hand around her throat. She let out a surprised cry a second before she was thrown across the clearing. Yuumai let out a small groan as she landed, rolling off her back and onto her side.

Asuma murmured a curse, rushing forward. Before he could, though, Toku was right beside Yuumai, the same twisted smile on his face.

_No,_ Ryu thought. He couldn't just let Yuumai die. She was an innocent life. She hadn't done anything wrong and was only about his age. Yet Toku was going to kill her. And he hadn't couldn't stop him from killing her. His own power had failed him. Could _he_ have been right? Could Ryu's own power not be anywhere near what was needed?

No, he couldn't believe that. He just couldn't. There had to be some way that Ryu could save Yuumai and stop Toku. He refused to just give up after so long of trying to stop himself from needing the other power. Ryu just had to find a way to.

Suddenly everything changed, all color but black and white fading. Everything was a blur of those two colors, making it almost impossible to separate them. A sudden surge of energy traveled to Ryu's hand, growing greater and greater. An outline began to become visible of Toku getting ready to smash his hand against something. Yuumai. He was getting ready to kill Yuumai.

_"No!"_ Ryu screamed both mentally and out loud, the energy shooting out of Ryu's hand. As it did, everything turned to before, leaving him looking at Toku, only now with a hole through his chest. Had he done that? More questions spiraled within Ryu's mind, but he couldn't grasp any one with the cloud of pain setting over him.

Once again there was silence. This time, however, Toku didn't get up.

"Kill him!" Senshi yelled, his words dull to Ryu's ears. It was like Ryu was slowly losing his senses as the darkness closed in. He was aware of the three remaining bandits charging forward, then Shikamaru yelling something about going through with a plan.

Shikamaru used a shadow possession jutsu, catching an unprepared Senshi with it.

Chouji used the expansion jutsu, making his body like a huge ball. He shot toward the blue haired man, crushing his left side.

Ino made her hands into what looked like a person taking a mental picture, focusing on the smaller red haired man. The mind transfer jutsu. Just like what they had done during the survival training.

Ryu realized with dread a moment later that she had missed. She slumped to the ground, but the red haired man continued forward, right toward the mindless Yamanaka.

Before he could, though, Asuma was there, slamming his arm into the neck of the bandit. He strangled him until the point he couldn't remain conscious. He dropped him, leaving his limp body there. With that done, he turned to the other bandits to address them.

By then Yuumai had crawled over to him. "Ryu, are you okay?" she said. "Ryu? Ryu!"

That was the last thing he heard before he fell into the darkness at last.

_**Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Where is Toku?"

Senshi and the two others bowed before a figure inside a seat within the Kogane Cave. His face was obscured by shadows, as well as most of his body except for the dark blue pants he wore. "He was killed," Senshi replied.

The man scoffed. "Really? But he had the Enhancement pill with him."

Senshi opened his mouth several times before closing it. Finally he said, "Some group of Leaf ninja came by. One of them somehow killed Toku." He raised his hand to his injured cheek and growled from pain. "I swear, next time I see a yin-yang sign, I'm going to break it."

This seemed to quip their leader's interest. "A yin-yang sign? What makes you say that?"

Still rubbing his pained cheek, he replied, "Because the kid who killed Toku and hurt me had a yin-yang ring."

"No way," their leader murmured. "What was the color of this kid's hair?"

The question caught Senshi off guard, but he did his best to remember. "It was black with white spikes," he replied, nodding to himself. Yeah, that was the color.

A laugh erupted from their leader, causing a sense of unease to settle within Senshi. It wasn't a pleasant laugh, but instead a twisted one that seemed to be close to insane. "Well, that's a twist of fate." He leaned forward then, his face becoming visible. He had slightly long spiky scarlet hair and onyx eyes that seemed like as much like stones as the color suggested. "Tell fifteen of the best fighters to be ready to leave by tomorrow."

"Yes, Lord Daichi."

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><p><strong>Chapter End Notes:<strong>  
><strong>(1) It's an African Wild Dog, but I'm not sure there's an Africa in the Narutoverse...<strong>


	10. Nature's Wonders

**Okay, first off, I would like to apologize for if this chapter is boring, because it's mostly setting up the next chapter. And yet, despite this, I still made it over 8000.**

**Next, I'd like to remind you that this is an extension of my birthday present to JubileeOfPuppies (from Tonfa), so Yuumai is still in this, messing up the Naruto world like my other ocs XD.**

**This is mostly description, as well as a bit of back story on our newest addition, so there may not be too much excitement. Niji-chan (UzamakiMasumi, also from Tonfa) said it was good, though, and thought I should end it here rather than keep on going like I originally would have XP. So, the next update should have a lot more action and everything. It's definitely going to be fun.**

**Speaking of Niji-chan, for one, thanks for your reviews, and I hope you can actually get caught up and understand what you read. And, also, I would like to thank her, seeing as she is my new beta. Yeah, I still feel weird saying that XP.**

**Lastly before giving credit to the name, I'm in search for an idea for a new banner because the one I have now is more like something for the entire series rather than this story itself, so I wanted to change it, but, well...**

**Well, the poem that inspired the title is called _Nature's Wonders_ is by Kayla R. Elewitz. It mostly just makes me think of the Forest Village, so it doesn't go too well with the rest of the chapter besides that, so I am sorry. If you can think of anything better, please let me know. If you want to see the poem, you can look it up on google or ask me and I'll send you a link.**

* * *

><p><em>Is he okay?<em>The voice was female and familiar, but they seemed to be on the edge of Ryu's conscious, just evading his grasp.

_Yeah, he's fine. He just overdid it, that's all._Another familiar voice, this one male.

_Just had to be the hero, didn't he?_This was another female voice, a bit more irritable and more familiar than the first.

_Hey, he saved our butts back there with that blast thing!_Another male among the group.

_This is such a-_

Before Ryu could hear another word, he seemed to be dragged into complete darkness, no sound getting through to him. Despite his best attempts, he couldn't seem to escape it. At times he thought he heard more voices, but he couldn't be sure.

His body felt heavy, weighed down as if his bones had become lead. At the same time the peace almost felt good and welcome. The memory of what had caused him to fall into this darkness was fuzzy, most likely because of his already confused state.

It felt as if he drifted there for only minutes yet for weeks at the same time. As time passed, though, his condition began to improve. The weight began to fade, energy spread through him, and the fog began to clear. There were even moments he would escape the darkness and see quick flashes.

One time he was in a wooden room by himself, a mattress underneath him and covers warming him. The room was mostly bare except for a dresser beside him and another bed on the other side of the room. It was rumpled, as if it had been slept on, but as of then it was unoccupied. Light shone in from somewhere behind him, most likely a window.

Another time he broke through, he wasn't in the room by himself. He was still in the room, but it had darkened considerably. Sitting in the bed across from him was a balled up figure with long blond hair in a pony tail, their body shaking as sobs escaped them.

"Ino?" Ryu managed to whisper. He was surprised he'd been able to speak, even if it shouldn't have been audible. Despite this, the young girl raised her head to look at him, her pale green eyes widening in shock.

"Asuma, Ryu's awake!" she called, rubbing at her eyes. Unlike before, when she'd instantly looked at him, she refused to even glance in his direction.

Ryu heard someone walking before he was dragged back under the dark.

There were a few other times he woke up as well, and each time he saw someone new beside of him. One time it was Asuma, leaning by what he could only guess was a window and blowing out smoke. Another time Ino was back, staring off into the distance as if she was lost to the world.

The final time he remembered was Shikamaru and Chouji, the chubby Akimichi complaining about something that Ryu didn't quite catch before he drifted back into sleep. This time, however, he did not return to the darkness. Instead he was surrounded by black and white energy, swirling around him like a tornado of color. He glared into the energy, searching it for anything that might give him a sign of what was going on.

Against his will, his feet began to move forward. He didn't think too much about it. After all, it was just a dream. But if that was so, why did he seem to have so much control over his own thoughts?

The farther he walked, the less white there seemed to be mixed in with the black. It was as if it was eating away at it, even sucking away at Ryu's own pure thoughts and feelings. He panicked slightly when he felt the dark energy raise, but it wasn't even his. Urgently reminding himself that it was just a dream, Ryu quickly tried to calm down.

He came to an abrupt stop as he finally saw what he was walking toward. What he had before only thought was more black overcoming the white he now saw as a huge aura of darkness as large as Konoha. Within the aura was a humanoid outline, though whether or not that was what it was Ryu wasn't sure. He did know this, though -whoever or whatever was within it was walking toward him.

As it drew closer, Ryu began to get an idea of what it looked like. The figure was humanoid and male, with deathly pale skin, black clothing, and what looked like grey hair. His eyes were a little hard to see, a good amount of distance remaining between the two males.

By the time the supposed male was close enough for Ryu to see his eyes, it had felt as if the darkness around it had stolen all of the hope, love, care, and other pure emotions from him. It left him feeling cold, almost dead, and goose bumps were along most of his body. When he saw the eyes, though, none of that mattered any longer.

Those blue eyes that seemed like exact replicas of the ones he could see in his head. The ones that gleamed with darkness. The ones that he hated and feared. But this was someone different, their appearances altered from the other.

Before Ryu could think too deeply into it, the blue eyed male moved so fast that Ryu could do nothing to dodge. He was suddenly within the darkness, sucking away any remaining life he'd felt. The male had his hand on Ryu's shoulder, his head bent down so it was next to his ear.

His voice seemed to carry the same cold chill as his aura. "You shall awaken me, Ryu, whether you want to or not."

****  
>Letting out a cry, Ryu bolted into a sitting position, his breathing labored and his body covered in cold sweat. His heart raced, almost as if it could run away from the nightmare. As if it could run away from the feeling of death that had settled over him only moments ago.<p>

He raised his trembling hands to his face, trying to get his emotions under control. It took a few moments, but he finally managed to calm his breathing and decrease the amount of trembling. As his panic began to decrease, he finally began to take in his surroundings.

Ryu was slightly surprised to see he was actually in the very room he'd seen while partially conscious. It wouldn't have surprised him if he'd dreamed it up. Morning light shone in through the window, and judging by the amount of light, either day was just arriving or leaving. Unlike most of the times he had awoken, he was alone in the room, the only sound coming from outside. It was a mixture of both human and animal sounds. He must have been in a village to hear so much noise from his own species.

Then he noticed something – the house he was in was quiet. His eyes narrowed in curiosity, knowing that his team was also staying there. Even the door to his room slightly open, no noise came in. Despite feeling slightly uncomfortable being in a stranger's house, he decided to find out what was going on.

As he rose, he noticed that he was only in his dull purple shirt. A quick glance showed his black short sleeve black jacket was folded and on the dresser. His ninja sandals sat in front of the dresser as well. He left his jacket where it was, but he did pull on his sandals before he left the room.

The rest of the house, just like the room he was just in, was made of wood, smoothed out like wooden floors in most houses he'd seen, but at the same time different. It was almost like being in a log cabin. In the hallway outside his there were a few more doors. Two were on one side, a third one right beside his own door. There was nothing to his right, so he turned left and preceded into what seemed to be the kitchen.

It was pretty basic, a wooden counter against the left wall with a sink, a plain white fridge against the edge of the counter. There was a table in the middle of the room, large enough for maybe four seats but only having three. There was a small divider wall between the kitchen and what must have been the living room. A wooden table sat in the middle with a couch and a couple of chairs around it.

Yet still no people were to be found.

"Hello?" Unsurprisingly, no response. Deciding his best bet was to look outside, he began walking to the door he believed would lead him there. As he was about to open it, though, it was opened by someone else. He knew exactly who it was when the smoke hit him.

"Asuma!"

His sensei seemed shocked to see him standing there, his dark eyes widening. "Ryu, when did you wake up?"

Ryu wouldn't admit it, but he was glad that the first person he'd run into was Asuma. He was in an unfamiliar place, and although he did feel comfortable around Shikamaru and Ino and was friends with Chouji, he didn't have the same bond with them that he had with Asuma. "Just a few minutes ago." When nobody seemed to try and move in behind Asuma, Ryu asked, "Where are the others?"

A smile pulled at the man's lips as he glanced behind him. "How about I just take you to them? They're in the village with the Yuumai girl you saved and her older sister."

His lavender eyes narrowing slightly, Ryu asked, "Is that where we are? Are we in their house?"

Asuma nodded in confirmation. "So, what do you say about seeing the Forest Village?"

"Sure," the boy responded with a shrug.

With a bit of a smirk, Asuma opened the door, stepping to the side to allow Ryu to walk out. It only took him a moment to find out why Asuma had looked so amused by this thought. He was sure he looked foolish, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. He felt like a child staring at a fairytale world.

The first thing he noticed was how high up they were. He could only guess how high. Three stories up maybe? They were standing on a wooden wraparound porch, a sea of green leaves and blue sky spreading out above him.

Their height, however, wasn't what amazed him. It was the village itself. Most villages would find open land, or clear the land, when they built the village. Instead, this village had made themselves a part of their surroundings. To tell the truth, it was the first village to ever completely steal his breath.

They were surrounded by towering trees, the leaves almost like green clouds in the sky. Many of them had roots jutting from the ground, allowing people to use them as seats or things to play around on. A majority of the trees were as thick as elephants, but a third of them were about half that size.

Another amazing thing was the houses. From his spot, he could see some on the ground, but that wasn't the only place they were. They were built on the trees just like the one he was on. They all had porches that wrapped around the tree, the house being built partially into the tree with the thinner ones, and almost being built as part of the tree with the thicker ones. Ryu wondered how the great weight of the brown beasts didn't crush the homes, but figured they had some sort of way of keeping it from doing so. Rope bridges went from most of the houses to the ones on either side of them and across from them.

As he watched, he saw another form of transportation. A boy, probably no older than eight, let out a scream as they flew through the air, a strap tied around each of his shoulders and then another strap connecting him to a rope line. As he approached a home, he began pulling down on the straps until they were almost gripping the rope, slowly his descent. The rope connected to the tree, so all the boy had to do was land on it before undoing his straps. When he was released, he fell a couple inches to the porch. Still laughing at the experience, he ran to the door, where a woman stood, laughing with him.

His gaze returned up as Ryu wondered if anyone else would be zipping through the air. Instead he saw more houses, more bridges, more rope lines, forming what seemed like a second floor to what he had already seen. It continued on up until about fifteen feet from the very top of the tree. Branches still remained, even growing through windows in the houses. He knew that the Forest Village wasn't large, but it sure made up for it in height.

Ryu was pulled out of his examination as a bird suddenly flew in front of his face. It wasn't like the ones he was used to, but instead a part of the Forest Village's strange fauna. The bird was the same species as he'd seen yesterday, its feathers lustrous green and purple. It stared at him with piercing black eyes for a moment, letting out a quick chirp before darting off again.

"This place is so…" Ryu was at a loss of words, feeling awestruck by the novelty of what he was seeing. It was as if it was a village of nature, interacting with it and becoming a part of it rather than its own. "It's so surreal."

Asuma chuckled. "You should have seen Chouji and Ino's expression when they first saw this place. Their faces were more comical than yours."

Once again he let his gaze roam over the village. He probably could have stared at it all day, comparing what he was used to and this fairytale world, but then Asuma pushed him forward. At first, Ryu thought he was trying to push him over the edge. Then he saw that he was actually pushing him toward a ladder.

"Do they really climb up the ladder all the time?" Ryu asked, looking over the edge. It would be hard to imagine the locals carrying things up and down the ladder while climbing with a free hand.

Asuma laughed. "No, they don't climb the ladders. The ladders are for those who don't live in the trees or don't know how to climb the trees."

"What?" The younger male raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean those that don't know how to climb the trees?"

Rather than answer, Asuma pointed to one of the trees across from them. Following the direction of his finger, Ryu looked at the tree. Once again his mouth fell open when he saw someone literally _walking_right up a tree.

The man couldn't be using momentum because he was walking casually. In his arms were bags hanging so that nothing would fall or roll out. Running past him was a little girl, laughing like crazy as she raced up the tree.

"How are they doing that?"

"It's a technique I'm going to have to teach you kids some time," Asuma said, walking toward the edge. Rather than go toward the ladder, he simply jumped from their height.

After quickly contemplating whether or not to risk jumping like his sensei, Ryu found himself making himself down the ladder. Normally he would just jump down, but he could still feel the tiredness pulling down on him.

Asuma was waiting for him at the bottom of the tree, a new cigarette already in his mouth. With great emphasis, Ryu coughed, swatting at the smoke floating his way. "Seriously, Asuma? You're really smoking again?"

His response was a simple grin and shrug.

Without needing to say anything, Asuma began to walk, Ryu walking along beside of him. As they traveled through the Forest Village, the young Sarutobi was able to get a better grip on it.

The ground had a larger variety of buildings, including ones made out of wood, cement, bricks, and other normal building material. There were no streets besides the dirt paths they walked on, so even if there were more modern buildings, the village still seemed more like an actual part of the forest. Many of the animals and plants were mixed in with the village, some of the strange deer grazing in a patch of grass while two little kids watched and giggled.

"This place almost seems to grow from the forest," Ryu noted.

Blowing out a puff of smoke, the older man said, "That is where they got their name from, Ryu."

"Asuma-sensei, is that Ryu with you?"

In front of them, Ryu saw what he had previously thought was just a group of buildings was really a small market. Standing at the entrance was Ino and Shikamaru, the female's pale jade eyes narrowed as she tried to make sure it was, in fact, Ryu.

As they approached the two teammates, Ryu remembered the few times he had regained consciousness. When Ino had been there, during that night, he had seen her crying. At least he was pretty sure he had. It was hard to be sure that wasn't a dream.

She seemed like her usual self when they got to them, so the thoughts quickly escaped Ryu. If anything, she seemed to be happier. There was a sudden brightness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"When did you finally get up?" Ino inquired.

"Just a few minutes ago."

"About time." Shikamaru stood to the side, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his gaze falling from the sky to Ryu. "Watching you all the time was a real drag."

Laughing slightly, Ryu said, "Well, thanks, I guess."

"Where're Chouji and the Kumoichis?" Asuma asked, stopping in front of his students.

The pony tailed boy hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "They're still shopping. Yuumai was showing Chouji some of the different chip flavors since they don't have barbeque here."

Ryu laughed at the shock Chouji must have gone through upon learning this, and wondered if his dream had been true and his friend was grieving the lack of barbeque flavored chips. Before he could make a comment, though, the very person they spoke of appeared, followed by two girls.

"Ryu! You're finally awake," Chouji said happily, sticking a chip in his mouth. Based off what the bag said, these chips were salt and vinegar, which surprised Ryu. He hadn't expected the chubby child to like that kind of chips.

Of the other two, he only recognized one of them. The younger of the two new females was Yuumai, dressed in a loose grey shirt and baggy white pants. Shingi walked at her side, running around as if he had too much energy to stay still.

The other female had to be her sister or another closely related female member of her family. Unlike Yuumai, she had brown hair and slightly darker brown eyes. Their faces, however, were similar enough for their relationship to be obvious. A few freckles dotted her face under her eyes, and glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. She wore a semi-long red yukata, blue jeans, and ninja sandals.

Both of the Kumoichis carried bags. For the most part, the bags were filled with fruits and vegetables, but a couple had wrapped up brown bags Ryu would bet were meats.

"Hello, Ryu," the unknown female greeted, watching as he examined the two of them. "I'm Yuumai's sister, Aiko."

"It's her house that we've been staying in," Asuma informed him.

Ryu smiled at the older girl. "Thank you, Aiko."

"It is just my way of thanking you for saving my little sister, Ryu. Your thanks is not necessary."

"I could have taken care of myself."

Aiko simply rolled her eyes at Yuumai. "So, how about we get back to the house?"

As they traveled back Aiko's home, Ryu began to understand just what had happened since he'd fainted. Apparently Asuma had taken out the remaining bandits that Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino had tried to stop. In fact, they had done a pretty good job except for Ino's miss.

After defeating them, the bandits quickly ran. Rather than try to capture them again and risk the genin getting hurt, Asuma had told them to leave them be. Instead of leaving Toku's body, they took it with them, planning on handing it over to the Forest Village. Once they'd arrived, they had been questioned, but seeing the bandits they had killed, the Forest Village citizens were quick to trust them, even the ones who were pushing more toward the Wind Country.

When they explained their mission, the villagers took them to their versions of medics, who were the ones who created the different medicines only made in the Forest Village thanks to their unique flora and fauna. Unfortunately, they were lacking the ingredients needed to complete the medicine with the beetle juice. There had been a lack of them recently. According to them, the Shira bandits had grown a sudden interest in them and had stolen most of the herbs. Their mission would take longer so they could help the medics find some of the herbs.

At first, it seemed like they would have no place to stay. Then Yuumai, who had followed them, suggested they stay with her and her sister.

Aiko had been more than happy to accept them into their home once she found out about team ten saving her younger sister. Neither of their parents was alive, so it was just the two of them, giving them plenty of room.

Rather than taking Ryu to the hospital, Asuma simply allowed him to rest, believing that he had, in fact, fainted from exhaustion. Since then, they had swapped watches on him to watch for him to wake up. While that person would keep watch, the others would be off helping the medics search for the herbs needed. Ryu had been out for almost two days, the second day mark only a few hours away.

Another thing Ryu began to figure out was the two Kumoichi girls' personalities. Aiko was nice, acting friendly to each member of team ten even though they had only met a couple days ago. Many of the passing people also waved to her, to which Aiko waved in return.

Yuumai wasn't so nice. She didn't really stay with their group, straying behind slightly with Shingi. Occasionally she would talk to Chouji, discussing things such as the new chips he was eating. Once or twice she spoke to Asuma and Aiko, but she didn't really address Shikamaru or Ino.

While he thought through this, Ryu fiddled with his ring, lost in thought and not even noticing the action. Yuumai, who was right behind him, seemed to, though.

"I like your ring, Ryu." It was the first time, he believed, that Yuumai had spoken since he'd seen her again. "I tried to look at it earlier, but for some reason Asuma freaked."

Thoughts of what that would have led to flashed through Ryu's mind. He paled, mentally thanking Asuma for stopping Yuumai from possibly removing his ring. He forced a smile. "Yeah, I just don't want to risk losing it. It's very important to me. Thanks, by the way."

Yuumai eyed him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Can I see it now that you're awake?"

Whether she was asking out of curiosity or simply to see his reaction, Ryu wasn't sure. He did know, though, that she had caught onto his bad reaction. "Sorry, Yuumai, but I would really prefer it if you didn't."

This just seemed to quip her interest more. Before she could say anything else, though, they arrived at the Kumoichi house. Or, well, the tree that it was on.

Asuma took a few of the bags from Aiko, who, to Ryu's surprise, then proceeded to walk up the tree. It was just like the people he had seen earlier. He had grown used to being around Aiko and for the most part saw her as pretty normal. And yet here she was, just like a shinobi, walking up a tree.

Shikamaru, who had been watching her like Ryu, sighed before walking over to the ladder where Chouji and Ino already were. The three team members scaled the ladder, leaving Ryu to be the only one watching Aiko.

"I told you most of the people here know how to do it." Asuma grinned at him before he, too, began to go up the tree. He, however, was doing it at more of a run.

Ryu glanced at Yuumai, who had Shingi in her arms. "Let me guess," he said. "You can do it, too?"

Yuumai did give a slight grin before she ran up the tree, her strange dog in her arms. This left Ryu standing by himself at the base of the tree. With a sigh, he walked up to the ladder and began the three story climb.

It wasn't until that moment that he realized he wasn't as close to being fully recovered as he had once thought. He could only make it half way before the tiredness set in, causing his muscles to ache and his body to feel heavy. By the time he got to the house, his arms were trembling.

Noticing his state, Ino pulled him into the house, giving him a slight push toward the couch. "Go sit down, hero. Overdo it and you're going to faint on us again."

Ryu rolled his eyes but did as Ino said, almost collapsing onto the sofa. Chouji and Shikamaru were also in the living room. The Nara looked as if he was going to doze off while Chouji talked animatedly about the new chips he had been introduced to. Both Asuma and Ino followed Aiko into the kitchen while Yuumai made herself comfortable beside Ryu.

Before long Asuma rejoined them, leaving Aiko and apparently Ino to do the cooking. The clatter of pots and pans filled the air, mixing in with Chouji's chatter. The other four were mostly silent, except for when one of them would comment on what Chouji would say.

"So, where did the ring come from?" Yuumai asked.

Caught slightly off guard by the question, it took Ryu a moment to think of an answer. "I got it from someone."

Her eyes sparked for a moment. "Ahh, did a cute girl give it to you, Ryu?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, who just smiled innocently at him. For a moment, he began to wonder if she really was older than he was. "No, it wasn't given to me by a girl."

"So a boy gave it to you," she concluded.

Ryu realized then what she was trying to do. She was trying to make him slip. He wasn't used to people really taking interest in anything involving him, so it came as a slight surprise. Giving a simply shrug, he replied, "Yeah, a guy gave it to me."

"Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does."

A groan from Shikamaru stopped Ryu from saying anything else. "Sheesh, you two are so troublesome."

Yuumai didn't make any remark directed at him, but it was obvious by her expression she was annoyed.

"Speaking of jewelry," Asuma stated, once again drawing attention away from a bad situation, "I noticed you aren't wearing the locket from before. Did you lose it during the escape?"

Yuumai's gaze dropped. "Well, you see, when you wear something, a lot of things can happen to it, such as it being lost again, or maybe stolen, and there's always the chance of wear and tear, so really, it's probably best if I don't wear it so none of these things happen, so I don't wear it, okay?" The entire sentence, if that was even what it really was, was rambled out fast enough it seemed to blur together.

This simply made Ryu suspicious, as did it with Asuma. In trying to get the attention off of Ryu's ring, the jonin may have just opened up a new door. Glancing over at the bearded shinobi, he saw there was, in fact, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Don't lie to them, Yuumai. After all, they are the ones who saved your life."

Aiko and Ino stood in the doorway, the older Kumoichi staring sadly at her sister. Pain flashed within Aiko's eyes, but there was strength in them that almost blocked it out. It must have been hard, Ryu realized, to have to grow up so fast just to make sure her sister was taken care of.

Shingi lowered himself on the floor, having taken a spot by Yuumai's feet before, and whimpered. It was as if he could sense the sadness in his human family. Almost absentmindedly, Yuumai patted his head reassuringly, silencing the dog.

"What is she lying about, Aiko?" Asuma asked, glancing at the girl.

"It's none of your business." Yuumai crossed her arms, leaning back as she glared at nothing yet everything at the same time. There was pain in her eyes as well, but anger also burned within their blue depth.

Sighing, Aiko turned her sad gaze from her sister to Asuma. "There was another reason for the bandits wanting the locket other than the value of the jewelry." Aiko paused, glancing at Yuumai as if to give her the chance to speak. When she didn't, Aiko sighed. "How about we discuss this over dinner? It's already done, and I'm sure all of you are hungry."

About twenty minutes later, they had all gathered food and returned to the living room. Asuma brought in a seat from the kitchen while everyone else took a seat, the kitchen lacking the amount of space they needed. The aroma of the freshly made curry rice and fukujinzuke(*1) filled the momentarily silent room.

"This food is amazing!" Chouji spoke through a mouthful of food, having been the first to get his food, and was two thirds of the way done. Ryu momentarily wondered if anyone had warned Aiko of the Akimichi's appetite.

Aiko smiled at him. "Thank you, Chouji." The smile vanished as she turned to Asuma, who had been watching her patiently while taking a few bites of the rice dish. "I'm guessing you want to hear about the locket now, huh?"

"It would be nice," the shinobi replied.

After getting herself comfortable and taking a quick sip of freshly brewed tea, Aiko began her explanation. "Our parents were among the top of our medics, researching all different kinds of things that had to do with our unique flora. They had a big interest in plants and the different ways they could affect the human body. They thought the plants may be able to help the human bodies in more ways than just healing sicknesses. They thought that maybe it could help out with worse things for those who weren't medical ninja.

"The Shira bandits made themselves known maybe three years ago. Back then they weren't too much of a threat, if anything only having a handful of members and just jumping the occasional traveler. There was even a few month time period they seemed to just vanish. It was also during this time the village began to grow in conflict once more because of the split between those for the Wind and those for the Fire country. Our parents thought that if we could possibly have our own way of being strong, we wouldn't have this conflict. We wouldn't have to rely on the other villages and countries to send in their ninja if we could fight ourselves.

"They went to work trying to invent something that could allow us to do this. Some of the medics would gather with them to study any plants that seemed like they could give off energy. If they could even possibly provide a boost, no matter what that boost was in, they would examine it.

"Before long, they believed they had succeeded. They still had some tests to run, though, so they never told anyone else. Hope can be a painful thing if it is false. Our parents didn't want to risk it being that. Then, during one of their trips to gather the ingredients, they were attacked by some stray bandits. This happened about maybe fourteen months ago, so almost two years after the Shira bandits had formed. It was also a time in which they had been unstable again due to losing one of their founding members, the youngest brother of the leader. Because of this the bandits managed to slip in. Finding our parents, they attacked them, believing they would have some value.

"Our parents were killed in a random killing that night. The bandits had found nothing of value and left, being chased off by their middle child, our brother, Seizon. He's the one who took it the worse, and I believe it is because he's the one who saw them dead."

Ryu bit his lip, stopping himself from voicing the question on his, and surely everyone else's, tongues. What brother was she talking about?

As if she could feel their confusion, Aiko paused in her explanation. "You are wondering who my brother is, aren't you?" she asked.

"It's a traitor," Yuumai grumbled.

Ryu looked over, slightly shocked by the hurt and anger blazing within her eyes. What could her brother have done to make her feel that? For a moment, Ryu felt his own pang of pain, but quickly shoved it away. It wasn't time to be thinking of stuff like that.

"What does she mean traitor?" Ino piped in, thankfully drawing Ryu's attention to her.

Aiko's eyes saddened even more as she stared at her sister, though Yuumai wasn't looking, so she didn't see it. "What she means is yes, our brother did betray us in a way. I was told that you faced our parents' creation while on your way here, right? Their work did succeed, creating the Enhancement pill. It gave the one who took it an extreme boost of speed and strength, as well as chakra, making it a great tool to help defend ourselves. To make sure nobody found it, my mother had hidden it in her locket, one that she had given Yuumai since our parents memorized the necessary ingredients. Our brother found this out, and he stole it."

"If he stole it from you guys, how did the Shira guys end up with it?"

Yuumai shot Ino a glare at the disruption, though Aiko didn't seem to mind. "That's what he did with the locket. About a year ago he went to the Shira bandits and told them about this Enhancement pill. He promised to make them some if they would help him track the bandits that had killed our parents. In fact, he succeeded, but rather than leave them, he continued, loving the sense of safety he had not having to fear the bandits that our village had feared for so long.

"He never told them the ingredients to make sure he was never killed off, nor did he let them know where the list was hidden. Seizon would go off alone and return with the pill's contents, then put them into the pill itself. Eight months ago, though, the old leader was killed and the bandits began to become more violent, even attacking the village a few time. This is what has pushed our village to try and get help, but the debate about the Sand and Leaf is idiotically being pushed.

"They began to start going out more and jumping people as well. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I believe that one time Seizon was alone when he did one of these jumpings and came across the wrong people. Either way, the Shira bandits didn't know where his body was, and he was dead. While out, Yuumai must have found the locket at the same time the bandits found the body, because she tried to take off with it and was caught in the situation you found her in."

Asuma leaned back in his seat, his plate, everyone's except Chouji's, was mostly full, growing cold as the conversation went on. "How did they know the locket held the list?"

Aiko shrugged. "I can't be sure. I'm guessing that the new leader decided to send someone to watch him, or he slipped," she replied.

"If he actually avenged your parents, why does it seem like such a betrayal? I mean, I know he was wrong," Ino added, "but wouldn't you guys see that as revenge?"

"Revenge, sure." Yuumai's voice was bitter, her hands clenched at the side so that the knuckles were white. "I guess you could call it that. But in doing so, he basically threw away Mom and Dad's work. They were dead, and what's the first thing he does? He leaves us and steals their work to give to them. They had spent so much time trying to create that to stop the Shira bandits, and now they know it's out there, and they plan on using it themselves. Not only did he betray us, but he betrayed our parents. He deserved to die!"

Her exclamation brought complete silence to the room. The young Kumoichi's face was red from anger, her breathing slightly heavy. It almost looked like tears were filling her eyes from her rage, the betrayal and hurt she felt burning behind the water.

"Yuumai," Aiko whispered.

Rather than say anything, Yuumai simply looked away, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the gathered people.

"Since they know about this pill, do you think they'd come after the locket?" Shikamaru questioned, glancing at Yuumai. "And if they did, wouldn't they be coming after her?"

The sudden threat placed on Yuumai seemed to come to a surprise to everyone. Ryu glanced at the girl beside of him. If they did come after her, would she end up on her own again? "Does someone need to guard her then?" he asked.

Asuma also looked at the girl, as well as the others, contemplating the new problem. "Well, you did say you wanted to learn to walk up trees, didn't you, Ryu?"

Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I did, but what does that have to do with her being protected? Also, shouldn't Aiko be protected as well?"

"No, she has a job during the weekdays, and the Shira gang doesn't know her face. This should provide a nice amount of security for her. You could always go out in the other side of the forest away from the Shira gang and train with Yuumai there on the tree climbing jutsu. In exchange, you'll be there to help keep her safe and could even teach her some basics in case she does come into a situation in which she needs to defend herself. While you do that, the rest of us will continue searching for the herbs."

The lavender eyed boy glanced at Yuumai. He didn't really mind the girl, but he was still thinking of her interest in his ring. Would she try to pry too much about that? There were only a few people who knew why it was special to him, and even less who knew its true purpose. Usually it didn't draw people's attention, so he didn't have to deal with tons of questions. With Yuumai, he had a feeling he was going to have to.

Though that would be a pathetic reason not to try and keep her safe, and he'd also learn something new.

"Sure, sounds great."

But Shikamaru found a flaw almost instantly after Ryu spoke. "There's only one problem. Ryu nearly collapsed just from climbing up the ladder, and he could barely take out one of the bandits before. Not only that, but it could be dangerous if they have another Enhancement pill," he pointed out. "Doing this may just put them both in danger, even if it is on the other side of the forest."

Their sensei glanced at Shikamaru, examining the boy with slight surprise. Ryu smiled, having begun to understand the Nara boy's true smarts under the lazy exterior both after being his teammate and then, finally, seeing the strategy he had concocted with Ino and Chouji.

"This is a good question, Shikamaru. So how about you stay with them as well?"

Shikamaru sighed, slouching in his seat. "But that would be so troublesome."

"Really? Is that right?" Asuma almost seemed to be chuckling as he asked this. "You do realize it would allow you to basically sit around and just provide the occasional help rather than be searching for herbs all day, right?"

Shikamaru shrug. "Whatever."

"I guess that's settled-"

"And what if I don't want to do it?" Yuumai interrupted, turning her narrowed eyes to Asuma.

This brought him up short, so Aiko quickly jumped in. "Yuumai, please do this. It will protect you while I'm away, especially now that you may just be wanted by the Shira gang. Plus, Asuma and the others won't be here forever. It's best to learn while you still can."

Aiko and Yuumai stared at each other for a while, neither of them relenting to the other. Ryu wasn't sure if it was her sister's worry or her logic, but finally the younger girl sighed. "Fine, I'll do it."

Asuma had felt the presence for a while, but it wasn't until after Aiko explained the situation and he finished his meal that he was able to excuse himself. "I'm going to smoke," he stated, placing his plate down before heading for the door. He didn't even wait for any comments before exiting the house.

Once outside, he did as he had said he would and lit a cigarette. Upon Aiko's request a few days ago, he went a little to the right of the door to make sure none of the smoke was blown in. As he took a puff of it, he casually leaned against the railing, letting his eyes roam the surrounding forest.

_I know you're out there,_Asuma thought. It had to be a strong presence if he was able to sense it from inside the Kumoichi's home. And whoever it was, they were trying to make sure they stayed hidden.

Following the feel of the chakra, he finally began to see who might be the one with it. He saw a smudge of red standing out in the usual forest colors of green and brown. His dark eyes narrowed, trying to get a better look. For some reason, it looked familiar. But why?

"Asuma-sensei."

Hearing the familiar voice, said man turned to face his blond headed student. She stood there, rubbing her arm absentmindedly while looking at the porch floor. Just staring at her sad green eyes, he knew what they were about to talk about.

"Yes, Ino."

Upon acknowledgement, her eyes raised to look at him. "Sending Shikamaru and Ryu away won't slow us down, will it? After all, with the two of them, we might find the needed herbs faster."

His expression softened. "It's only been a couple days and so far we have about a third of the needed ingredients. It won't take much longer," he assured her. "And after that, it only takes them about two days to get everything done. We'll be back in before two weeks – I'm sure of it."

Ino still seemed doubtful, and for a second, it looked like she was about to argue again. Instead she just sighed and turned. "I really hope you're right, Sensei." With that ending, she went back inside.

Still slightly worried about Ino, it took Asuma a second to turn back to the forest. When he did, though, the red smudge had disappeared. Yet at the same time, the chakra remained strong.

Daichi smiled, having retreated farther back into the forest. He still had a bit of a view of the bearded jonin through some leaves, but it was a simple blur. "Well, this is just perfect."

"Are we still going to attack the house, Lord Daichi?"

The ex-anbu turned to face Senshi, who was absentmindedly rubbing the healing cut on his cheek. There was an eager gleam in his eyes, thrilled by the thought of attacking.

He smirked at the other man's eagerness. The same thrill was in Daichi, but as he glanced back at the Konoha jonin, he knew they couldn't. Not just yet. This man was the same one from two years ago and the one who had figured out his secret. He was among one of the men that had defeated him. Now he would be able to get his revenge.

But simply attacking him now wasn't the answer. Even if not too strong, the four genin with him could tilt the odds against him, especially with the jutsus among them. If the techniques had been described to him correctly, it seemed like there was a Nara, Akimichi, and very possibly a Yamanaka among them. All of these were skilled clans, and even if he was wrong, that didn't mean they couldn't help them in some way.

"Sorry, but it's going to have to wait," Daichi said. He glanced at the ten men who had followed them. "We're heading back for now."

Senshi groaned in obvious annoyance. "Darn. I was itching to kill that punk kid with the ring."

This brought a sudden smile to Daichi's face. "Who said anything about killing him? In fact, I want him to join us."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think? Poor Shingi is sad he didn't get more parts in this, but the little doggy just has to wait. I don't know, I just randomly thought of that *shrugs*. Now everything is set up, and the fun shall begin. I feel evil saying that seeing as by fun, I mean a lot of crap for the heroes. I believe that is all for now, so <em>adios.<em>**

_**1 - Fukujinzuke is one of the most popular kinds of pickles in Japanese cuisine, commonly used as a relish for Japanese curry. In fukujinzuke, vegetables including daikon, eggplant, lotus root and cucumber are finely chopped, then pickled in a base that is flavored with soy sauce. The end result has a crunchy texture.**_

Curry rice - Curry Rice is cooked rice with a curry sauce. It can be served with additional toppings such as tonkatsu. Curry is not a native Japanese spice, but has been used in Japan for over a century. Curry Rice is a very popular dish, and many inexpensive Curry Rice restaurants can be found especially in and around train stations.


	11. Betrayal

Oh. My. Gosh. I know I've already updated Retribution, but since this is a story that's been with me far longer, I feel so refreshed updating it T_T. Speaking of which, guess what? This is only one of two updates you're getting today. Someone *coughShizakecough* convinced me to do a double update.

I would like to thank Little miss innocent liar for reviewing this story here. I'd also like to thank UzumakiMasumi (from ) for beta-ing this for me. I'm pretty sure I changed all the things she added... I tried to also look over it, so if I missed anything, I'm sorry.

Although I am unsure how many of your really enjoy today, I'd also like to say Happy Valentines' Day. Even if it is named after an bad guy (will only understand if you've read The Mortal Instruments), it's a holiday, right? More commercialize, but still...

This chapter doesn't really have a song. I didn't figure there was any real point trying to figure something out, so I just didn't do it *shrugs*. So there is no disclaimer for that.

Now, I kinda forgot the question for last chapter, but oh well. I'll remember it this time ^_^.

Question: How did Yuumai's brother both betray and avenge his parents?

Okay, I think that is all. Though I'll probably remember something later, though I can put that in the next update. I just have to edit it since I didn't have the time to send it to UzumakiMasumi. So if it's bad... Yeah, that's why. Speaking of, if there's anything in parenthesis I forgot to take out, I'm sorry U^_^.

**2-14-13**

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><p>"Put some elbow grease into it then!"<p>

Sakai's voice rang through the kitchen, snapping like a whip at the young apprentice. He quavered in fear, having made the mistake of complaining to the chef. Then again, nobody was ever prepared for the terrifying man. His old, weathered appearance gave people the impression that he was weak. They couldn't be further from the truth.

"Bu-but, Chef, I-I didn't do all of it. Why am I the only one wh-who has to clean th-this? I-It's s-so hard." The apprentice glanced away, refusing to meet Sakai's eyes. Instead, he tried to use them to beg one of his coworkers to help him.

Nobody dared offer.

A low, annoyed growl came from the older man. Then he barked, "Then maybe next time you won't be foolish enough to horseplay in my kitchen, eh?" If possible, his glare grew more intense. "Of course, there will not be a next time, will there, Satoshi?"

"No, sir…."

"Speak up and look me in the eyes!"

Slowly but surely, Satoshi began to look at the kitchen master. "No, sir, there will not be a next time."

After a few more moments of tense eye contact Sakai gave a satisfied huff and turned away. "A wimp, just like all the rest."Before he had a chance to continue his inspection of the kitchen, a quiet voice from the front spoke out.

"Chef Sakai, I'm sorry to bother you," a small voice said, "but I need to ask you something." Mimi had stuck her head through the door to the actual restaurant, watching the scene unfold. Like she should, she had waited until Sakai finished to speak.

"What is it, Mimi?" His voice softened considerably as he addressed his granddaughter.

"Some shinobi want directions, Chef Sakai."

Despite his seeming untiring exterior the man let out a tired sigh. "Tell them I'll be right with them then." Once Mimi had left, the chef turned his piercing gaze to the many workers. "Everything had better be first-rate when I get back, got it?"

A chorus of "Yes sir" answered him.

Nodding his approval, Sakai left the kitchen. The restaurant was, as usual, busy with travelers, shinobi, and Dune Village residents. The stools at the bar were full for the most part, and at least half the tables and booths were occupied. He felt a swell of pride at how well his restaurant was doing.

"This is the owner and top chef of Amatsu Kaze(*1), Chef Sakai Rokusaburo." Mimi said, her voice drawing Sakai's focus to the shinobi she had mentioned before. "Chef Sakai, these are the Sand shinobi travelers."

Even without the introduction, Sakai would have been able to tell the two were shinobi of the Sand. The man wore the usual Sand jonin gear. Both also had a Sand headband. At least the man did. The teen girl with him had a metal plate on the back of her glove with the Sand symbol.

As the old man truly focused on the girl, his eyebrows rose. Her completely pink outfit stood out against her dark complexion, and her hair flowed like water slightly past her butt. He knew Mimi was beautiful. It wasn't because it was his granddaughter that he knew this, but it was because it was a fact. This young girl, however, had some sort of exotic beauty that allowed her to surpass Mimi's.

"Hello, Chef Sakai. I am Raido Gansaku, and this is one of my students, Hime Enjin. It is quite a fine restaurant you have here."

Sakai couldn't help but smile as the words increased his already fresh pride. "Thank you. I am pleased that I have another satisfied customer. And seeing as one of the things we here at Amatsu Kaze promise is customer service, how may I help you?"

Raido glanced at Hime and then hurriedly away. "Well, you see…."

"We're lost," Hime interrupted. "Our sensei lost our map and thought he could lead us to the Leaf when he has less sense of direction than a newborn."

Sakai raised an eyebrow while the other male gave a nervous laugh. "Well, when you put it that way, Hime, maybe it wasn't the best of ideas," Raido admitted. Then he gestured to Amatsu Kaze. "If we had, though, we never would have found this wondrous place."

Rather than allow the two shinobi to argue Sakai spoke up. "You're in the Dune Village. If you're heading to the Leaf from here, you'll have to go through the Shira Forest, which is technically Fire Country territory even though it's in the River Country."

Sakai had never understood why that was, nor why it was trying to become a Wind Country village. Wouldn't it be simpler to be a part of the River Country? He didn't question it, though, because he neither lived there nor ran it. "Get through there," he continued, "and you'll have a pretty clear path to the Leaf."

"I hadn't thought we were that far north from the Sand Village," Raido remarked half to himself. "Those Shira Bandits still a problem?"

Sakai shrugged. "Don't keep up with their news, to tell you the truth. Just be careful either way and watch your back," he added. "Some fellow from the village did stop here, though – when was it, Mimi?"

"I believe you're talking about the man four months ago, Chef Sakai, sir."

"That's right, Mimi. Thank you. If I remember correctly, he said something about them being worse," Sakai told them.

"Who exactly are the Shira Bandits, Raido-Sensei?" Hime inquired.

Sakai felt a pang in his heart thinking of the young girl going into the forest. She was no older than his precious Mimi. "How about I give you and your team a map?" he asked, interrupting whatever Raido had been saying in reply.

Hime clapped her hands in joy. "You would really do that, Chef Sakai?" She smiled at her sensei. "Come on, accept it. We need it – especially if we're going to get to the Leaf in time to sign up and get a good look around."

Raido laughed. "Sure thing, Hime. So, Chef Sakai, I hope you'll take that as a yes."

"I'll get that for you, Grand- I mean, Chef Sakai."

_These two girls_, Sakai thought as he watched Mimi rush off to retrieve the map,_are both quite energetic_.

"I'll go tell the guys the good news – no more following Sensei's directions! If you'd even call them that," Hime cheered, smiling widely. Before Raido could retort, Hime was already moving to where two boys were seated, sipping from steaming tea.

"How long have you all been a team?" Sakai asked.

"Maybe ten or so months officially now." Raido said. He had not moved his eyes from his students, a strange sadness in his lavender eyes.

In his mind's eyes, Sakai saw a bloodied Mimi, her skin deadly pale as a medical ninja hurriedly tried to heal her(*2). "Take care of them, got it?" This finally made Raido look at the elderly chef. "That is a sensei's job, right? Don't fail them."

He smiled ruefully. "I can't fail them." Raido's voice had lowered, pain now mixed in with the sadness in his eyes. "I have too much to make up for with them."

Before Sakai could say anything, his granddaughter made her reappearance, the map clutched in her hand. She handed it to the shinobi, and said, "Here you go, Mister Raido."

"Thank you."

Then he was gone, leaving a confused Sakai staring at him and his team. _Everyone has a story, I guess._

He finally ripped his gaze from them as a loud clatter came from the kitchen. Sakai's eyebrow twitched as he turned toward the door. "Those good-for-nothing fools." He flung the door open and walked through it, his terrifying wrath following him.

"Uh-oh," Mimi murmured. "Someone made a racket. There'll be a murder soon….."

_Stay calm and focus. That's all I can tell you._

It was hard to follow Yuumai's advice. After attempting for seven days now, Ryu found his attention shifting to other things. The birds' beautiful songs, the water crashing against water from the nearby waterfall, the slight noise from Yuumai running laps around the forest, and the slow, calm breathing of Shikamaru.

Ryu could never remember having so much difficulty learning a technique. And to think that the reason for his troubles was his best jutsu. He opened his eyes, sighing at the tree in front of him. Almost every two or three feet there was a footprint where the bark had broken beneath him.

_Stop expelling chakra so much from your feet!_

_It's not like I'm meaning to._

Ryu and Yuumai had basically gone through the same thing every other time he would mess up. It wasn't until the third day Shikamaru finally grew tired of it and explained why Ryu kept putting out too much chakra. Apparently it was because he was so used to the static field jutsu. After having used the jutsu for so long and so much, Ryu had grown accustomed to releasing large amounts of chakra rather than having a nice, balanced stream.

"It looks like it's going to rain."

Shikamaru's voice drew Ryu's attention to his team-mate. He was leaning against one of the trees Ryu had already used, looking up at the sky. Following his gaze, Ryu saw that the sky had become a grey plate. "Wow. When did the rain clouds roll in?"

"Dunno," Shikamaru replied. With a sigh, the lazy boy rose to his feet. "It's probably time to go pick up Aiko. Man, this is such a drag."

Smiling, Ryu said, "Well, at least once you're done, you can come back and help me train Yuumai." This earned him a glare. "Oh, speaking of Yuumai, tell her she can go ahead and rest."

Grumbling what Ryu assumed was a yes, Shikamaru walked off. After his comrade had gone about three yards, Ryu turned back to his newest tree. It was scarred by eight footprints. Judging from how well he had been doing, Ryu was sure there would be another one in a few seconds.

He closed his eyes and tried to erase all distractions from his mind. Yuumai's advice repeated in Ryu's mind. _Stay calm and focus._ It sounded so easy, yet it had proved to be quite difficult for him.

_Concentrate._

The chakra flowed to his feet.

_Concentrate._

Once it reached its destination, Ryu willed it to stream evenly rather than gushing out.

_Concentrate._

His eyes flew open as he felt the right amount of chakra stream into his feet. Doing his best to maintain that flow, Ryu charged the tree. He jumped up, hooking himself to the bark with his chakra. For a moment he felt a sense of wrongness as everything changed. The sky was now in front of him and the ground behind. Unlike the first time where the sudden change made him fall, Ryu managed to push it aside in seconds and continue up the tree.

_Almost there,_ Ryu thought, seeing the first branch about ten feet in front of him.

"Hey, Ryu, you're actually doing it," an enthused voice called.

Shocked by suddenly hearing Yuumai's shout, Ryu's concentration faltered. He felt chakra surge to his feet a moment before he was suddenly sent flying off. Ryu barely managed to land on his feet, and even though he did, he only managed to stay up for a moment before falling.

"Or, well, you were."

"I was doing just fine before you surprised me," Ryu shot back. He glanced over to see Yuumai leaning against the tree. Her breathing was labored and sweat dripped down her blood red face. "Well, at least you didn't faint like yesterday."

The major problem with training Yuumai to fight, as Shikamaru and Ryu had quickly found out, was her lack of stamina. Since that first day Yuumai had to run for thirty minutes. Her time had been increased to forty-five minutes the previous day.

Yuumai glared slightly at the reminder. "Just get back to your tree climbing."

Although Ryu rolled his eyes, he did as Yuumai said. His progress was slow, but he usually made it a bit farther each time. Yuumai threw in random advice at even more random times. Half the mistakes he had made were due to her speaking. After twenty minutes he had made it to the second branch.

His breaths slightly hard, Ryu leaned against the tree he'd been running on. With only ten minutes until Shikamaru usually returned, he figured it would be best to rest a bit. He had his neck craned back, giving him a clear view of the broken bark and green sky of leaves.

A twinge of disappointment flashed when Ryu saw all the failed attempts above him. He was also surrounded by failed attempts on other trees that were no longer usable. How could just one jutsu mess him up so much?

It was an unconscious habit, Ryu was beginning to realize, to twist his ring when he was in thought or troubled. In that moment he was a mixture of both. He hadn't realized it, though, until Yuumai pointed it out. She was suddenly beside him, bent down to stare at it.

"Yuumai, staring at it won't bring out a new secret."

His words did nothing to deter her determination. "I wouldn't try to find stuff out on my own if you would just tell me," she retorted.

He sighed. Her attempts were really starting to wear at his patience. Just the other day she had interrogated him because he'd panicked when he hit it against a tree. She wasn't aware that this was because it nearly came off. "Please just cut it out, Yuumai. I'm too tired for it right now."

The teen raised an eyebrow. "And you'll ever be in the mood?" Yuumai countered.

Although she had a point, he shrugged. "I'm even less in the mood when I'm tired and trying to rest before your training starts," Ryu said. His attempt to use logic that would also affect her did nothing except make her eyes narrow.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it doesn't matter," Ryu replied calmly, though at the moment he wanted to snap at her. Even when he tried to diffuse the situation, she just kept pushing.

The Kumoichi cocked her head to the side, staring at the boy. "It's just a simple ring. What could be so secretive about it?"

Ryu almost laughed. Nobody knew just how many secrets it held, or what it was his ring hid except for Hiruzen and Asuma. He was sure they didn't want to know either, no matter how curious Yuumai was in that moment. "You don't want to know," he assured.

Scoffing, she snapped, "You're right, I don't. I've just been asking you over and over again because I have nothing better to do."

"If you guys are okay arguing, would it be alright if I went back to the house?"

The voice drew the attention of both teens. Shikamaru leaned against a nearby tree, a lazy expression on his face. "It looks like one of you is about to punch the other. Or should I worry about something else like you two kissing?"

Yuumai looked absolutely appalled by the idea while Ryu sighed and rolled his eyes, saying, "You need to stop reading teen romance books, Shikamaru."

"Don't have to," he said, sliding down into a sitting position. "Ino will tell me, anyway."

Still annoyed by his comment, Yuumai glowered. "How about we get to the practicing now?"

Ryu gestured to the middle of the clearing, regaining her attention. With one last venomous look at Shikamaru, Yuumai moved to her usual starting spot during their daily lessons. "For the past couple of days we've been instructing and fixing your technique. So how about we have a sparring match instead today?" Ryu suggested. "Meaning the only time I'll critique you is at the end unless you ask."

Yuumai shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

The Nara smirked. "Let the hitting begin."

Only growing more annoyed by Shikamaru's remark, Yuumai stuck out her tongue. "I am just going to sic Shingi on you," she warned.

Her threat made no impact on Shikamaru. Instead he looked up at the clouds again.

"How about we start?" Ryu recommended before anything else could be said. If glares could kill, he was sure Yuumai would have died a hundred times already. After Yuumai grumbled that they could, Ryu glanced at Shikamaru. "Tell when to start, okay?"

"Whatever."

Both fell into battle stances, staring intently at each other. Ryu was happy Yuumai had actually done so. Her reactions varied between a strong refusal to do anything and complying. He could never guess which she would do each time. Luckily Yuumai had chosen to do as they said.

"Start."

****

"Yuumai, that was really slow and you even saw it. You should have stopped it."

"I could have sworn I saw something," said girl quickly defended.

Asuma felt his mouth twitch at the children, knowing he had caused Ryu to chastise Yuumai. Her sore jaw was more than likely his fault, but the situation was amusing. When Ryu had punched, Yuumai must have glimpsed him spying on the trio. Her slight hesitation had proven painful for her face.

Well aware that either Shikamaru or Ryu was likely to check it out, Asuma quickly started moving away. They didn't need to know that he was checking in on them. It helped settle his mind, though, to know that they were okay.

He had allowed Ryu to fight against the Shira bandit known as Toku, but guilt still ate at him for it to the point that he checked on his students almost every hour. Asuma refused to let him be attacked again. Although the first time had been necessary, he saw no reason for it to happen once more.

Already Asuma could see the effects the battle had had on him. Ever since the kidnapping incident, Ryu had lost his own faith in his strength. He wasn't aware of this, but recently Asuma had realized it. After he became a genin, it was obvious. He was too afraid he'd always rely on its strength.

Once he had battled Toku with his own power, that had left him. His faith may not be entirely restored, but it was much stronger than before and the doubt and fear that had once plagued his eyes was nearly gone.

Asuma, believing he was far enough away from Ryu and the others, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and returned to his mission of searching for the herbs. It was a task that was proving to be more difficult with each passing day. They had found all but seven of the herbs, but the prior day they had been unable to find them. Although it put him at risk of running into the Shira bandits, Asuma had begun to venture deeper into the forest in his search.

Flicking the ashes off the tip of the cigarette, he knelt down by what may be the herb they were searching for. He sighed in annoyance when he saw that it was a similar herb which had been fooling him quite often. Fighting the Shira bandits was sounding more appealing than searching for the necessary ingredients. He would even rather help his students catch more of the beetles. Ryu and Shikamaru had no clue how much they had lucked out.

As Asuma rose to his feet, his eyes narrowed. In one swift movement, a kunai was out and thrown in the direction of the chakra he had sensed. Even though he had a bad feeling, he'd thrown the kunai slightly to the side so that it sunk into the tree by the new arrival's head.

Shocked by the sudden attack, the dark haired male froze. It was only momentarily, but it made his following attempt at a relaxed nature ridiculous. The man placed his hands in his pockets as if at ease and loosened his stance. "Your aim could use a bit of improvement."

Asuma smirked as he pulled out his chakra blades. "You're right. Maybe I should use hand-to-hand combat." Instantly the new man paled. Asuma's eyes narrowed again. He looked familiar, but he was sure he wasn't a part of the search team. "Who are you?"

"A new friend and ally of yours," the man said. Although he couldn't muster the same amount of nonchalance as he had before, he did a pretty good job. "Me and the rest of the Shira Bandits have been asked to help you with that yin-yang brat," he said, unconsciously rubbing a pad on his cheek.

Both the injury on his cheek and mention of the Shira Bandits made Asuma realize who the man was. If he remembered correctly, his name was Senshi. He'd been the one leading Toku's group. And the yin-yang brat he spoke of was Ryu. "I would never help you do anything to Ryu," he scoffed in annoyance.

Senshi raised an eyebrow. "So you're going to ignore your own orders? The Hokage made this request to us himself."

Asuma scowled in disbelieve, focusing chakra into his blades. A blue aura thrummed to life around them. "The Hokage would never team up with bandits, and especially not over something like Ryu," he disagreed. "There's nothing for you to help me with involving him."

He felt the other presence a moment before he heard him. "I am sorry to say that is not true."

Shock ran through the bearded man. Turning around he found himself staring into a pair of black eyes. "Father." Although Asuma usually referred to Hiruzen by his title, his sudden appearance had drawn the word out of him. Asuma couldn't believe the sight before him. The Hokage stood right before him, miles from the Leaf, apparently asking for the help of bandits. Although every part of him screamed that this was wrong, some feeling told him this was his father. "What is going on?"

A heavy sadness brought the Hokage's eyes down. "Ryu has betrayed us, Asuma."

"That can't be true!" Asuma instantly protested, his eyes widening. "This is Ryu we're talking about, Lord Hokage. There must be some kind of mistake."

Even as Asuma spoke, he shook his head. "My son, I wish this was so, but I have looked at every possible angle. Ryu has made a deal with the villagers still siding with joining the Sand," the Hokage explained dejectedly. "Once you get all the necessary herbs, he plans on stealing them to create more Enhancement pills."

Senshi couldn't help but smile as he watched the confliction flash within Asuma's eyes. Daichi's ability truly was terrifying. No matter how much faith he had in the kid, he was trapped within what he believed to be his father's words.

"Why?" Asuma asked. His hands were trembling, Senshi noticed. "Why would he do something like that?"

Somehow Daichi showed great pain in his eyes. Senshi would never understand how he could act so well. Even when his genjutsu was absolute, which he was sure it soon would be, Daichi acted the part he was supposed to.

"My information leads me to believe he has been offered some of these Enhancement pills himself," Daichi said.

Asuma's face suddenly paled. "You don't think he'd be trying to….."

Senshi was sure that Daichi had no clue what Asuma spoke of, but he nodded. "I do believe so. I am especially worried if he uses a pill while using his ability."

When his shoulders sagged in defeat, there was no doubt that the genjutsu had taken complete control. "Is there nothing we can do to save him, Lord Hokage?" His voice was nearly a whisper, the forgotten cigarette in his mouth slowly fading into ashes.

"I am unsure, but I plan on asking him to change his mind. If he does not…" Daichi paused, watching Asuma's reaction. A small smirk formed. "If not, we will have to kill him."

Trying to hide his pained expression, Asuma looked at the ground. "Yes, Father."

Then it began to rain.

* * *

><p><strong>*1<strong> - This means heavenly wind.

***2** - Some may be confused by this random info, but trust me, you'll find out more later on.


	12. Not Alone

Okay, I realize this was due two days ago, but please forgive me! I'm used to Tonfa, and then I kinda forgot about updating it here. *bows repeatedly saying "Please forgive me"*

Also do not be surprised if there are more mistakes because, as I mentioned UzamakiMasumi was not able to beta this chapter.

If you don't notice through this chapter, it is a lot more serious than the others in the Shira Bandit arc so far because things are kinda turned up a level with the ending of the previous chapter. For a bit I felt like this made my writing a bit different, but that may have just been my imagination. What do you guys think?

Question: What did Ryu tell Shikamaru to stop reading?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Not Alone. It is a song by Red.**

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you made me train for another hour in the rain," Yuumai grumbled, her arms crossed as she dragged her feet a few paces behind the two boys.<p>

"Me and Shikamaru weren't bothered by it."

"Well, one of you two was in the cover of a tree and didn't have to worry about it. As for the other one, he's just an idiot."

Shikamaru sighed. "You two are so troublesome," he grumbled.

Ryu could practically feel her glare piercing the back of his head. He was sure Shikamaru could, too, because he sighed again. "I'm sorry, Yuumai, but it actually proved to be good training for balance. This way you could train on terrain that wasn't totally solid."

"Yes," Yuumai muttered, "because every ninja should learn to fight in the mud. First you punch me in the face, and then risk me getting sick from all this rain."

Simply rolling his eyes at her, Ryu put his hands behind his head in a fashion similar to Naruto's. Thinking of his blond friend, he wondered how he would react to Yuumai as well as how he was doing on his own mission. How was he handling being on the same team as Sasuke? What about Sakura? Although he hated the thought, he was sure she was enjoying her time with Sasuke on what Naruto had claimed was a major mission. They made one interesting team.

"What are you grinning about?" Yuumai inquired. Her voice was still bitter, but she had finally walked fast enough that she was beside of him.

Ryu hadn't even noticed that he'd started to grin, but he wasn't surprised to find that he was. He shrugged. "Just thinking of some friends is all," Ryu replied.

"Such as Sakura?"

He couldn't help but blush, looking away from the lazy male. "I was thinking of all of Team Seven, actually," Ryu corrected. "Don't jump to conclusions, Shikamaru."

"So mostly Sakura?"

The repeated name quipped Yuumai's interest. "Who's Sakura?" She snickered. "She your girlfriend?"

Of course her mood would improve at such a topic. Although Ryu knew it was slightly defensive he said, "You know, it really doesn't-"

"Ryu! Shikamaru!"

The group paused, only about three trees down from the Kumoichi's home. Their gazes traveled up toward the source of the voice. Ino was on the porch, leaning against the railing. She looked worried and kept glancing around as if she expected to see someone with them.

"What's up, Ino?" Ryu called.

Ino glanced toward each side of the forest once more before answering. "Have you guys seen Asuma-sensei? I've been looking for him for the past thirty minutes, as well as most of the search team. There's been no sign of him."

Ryu found himself copying Ino's actions. He knew that their training had dragged on longer than usual and that the search team would beat him home. Ryu also knew that Asuma was probably the best at keeping track of the time. Their sensei should have arrived before anyone.

"We haven't seen him," Shikamaru finally replied for them. "I'm sure he's just searching more extensively since you didn't have any luck yesterday."

His words did nothing to quell Ino's worry. If Ryu was correct, she also appeared guilty. "Hey, Ino, how about I help you search?" he offered. "I don't mind being out in the rain." He glanced at Shikamaru. "You want to help?"

"Nope," he replied, walking toward the ladder. "Like I said, I'm sure he's just searching some more. If so, I don't want him to drag me into it."

Ryu didn't even bother asking Yuumai. Instead he glanced at Ino. "How about it? Want to go search?"

Before he had the entire question out, Ino had descended the ladder. Shikamaru grumbled, climbing back down the few rungs he had reached now that someone else was coming down. When Ino made it to the ground, she turned and smiled gratefully at Ryu. "No matter how annoying you can be, I could hug you at times."

Trying to hide his slight blush, he redirected the conversation. "Think Chouji would want to come along?"

"He couldn't if he wanted to," Ino replied. "He ate some mushroom that made him sick. I think Aiko just barely saved him, and now he's sleeping it off."

"That boy will eat anything," Shikamaru muttered with an exasperated sigh and made his way up the ladder. Soon after Yuumai followed, leaving Ryu and Ino alone.

"So," he began, "where have you looked so far?"

The question nearly brought a smile to Ino's face. It was so similar to their training exercise, and yet that day felt years away. Then she hadn't feared for her Sensei's safety. "I looked around the eastern part of the forest. I figured if he had been in the western area, he would be with you guys."

"Then I guess that would be the best place to check," he concluded.

The two genin made their way to where Ryu and the others had previously been training. Ino nervously looking around, and once again he noticed the guilt flash in her eyes. Her strange behavior since they first embarked on the mission had remained in the back of his mind, but now that he was seeing it so obvious, he couldn't push down his curiosity. After trying to hold back the question for twenty minutes, it finally forced itself out.

"So what's been bugging you, Ino?"

The sudden break in silence made Ino flinch, and she quickly averted her eyes. "I have no clue what you're talking about, Ryu," Ino said.

His eyes narrowed. She was a terrible liar. It just assured him something was wrong. "You really should tell the truth," Ryu pushed. "You've been acting weird for a while, and now you look guilty. Why is that?"

Ino didn't respond. Figuring she wouldn't tell him, Ryu sighed and began looking around for Asuma. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Ino had also resumed searching. Although she looked serious, something gave away her sadness. It could have been her slumped shoulders or sorrow in her expression. "Ino, seriously, what's-"

"Ryu, isn't that Asuma's?"

He followed her pointed finger and froze. No doubt about it. The weapon was definitely Asuma's chakra blade. It was unlikely that anyone else would have a similar one when the Forest Village lacked ninja. "This can't be good," he muttered, approaching the tree. "I can still feel chakra from it. It's Asuma's, but….."

Ino walked over to where he was and eyed the blade. "But what?" she asked as he pulled it out.

"It's extremely weak, so he couldn't have used it recently." Almost as if expecting to see their sensei, he swirled around and began to look. "He wouldn't just leave this here."

"What if he was using it as a marker?"

Ryu shook his head. "Even then he'd just make a slash mark or something. He'd even use a kunai before leaving his best weapon, especially with the Shira Forest Bandits around." Chewing his lip, he contemplated any situation that would end with Asuma abandoning his chakra blade. Nearly none were good. "We need to get back to the village. I have a really bad feeling about this," Ryu said.

Without any argument, Ino started in the direction they'd come. Once Ryu was beside her, the two started to run. "You don't think the bandits got him." His expression must have given him away because her eyes widened. "You do think they did, don't you?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems likely either they surprised him or they could have used the Enhancement pill," Ryu reasoned. "After all, he's the strongest person in this village."

Ino's clenched her fist and bit down hard on her lip. It took her another five minutes to speak. "So what would they be trying to do? Get the recipe or something?"

A shrug answered her. "That is most likely, but it could be something else," he said. "Either way, we're just genin and no match for them. We need to get a message to the Leaf or Sand or something."

They were only about three minutes from the village when they first heard the screaming. Ino stopped, grabbing Ryu's arm so he did the same. "You heard that, right?" she whispered, a slight tremor in her voice.

Before he could answer, another louder scream followed. Neither of them had any doubt. Something bad was happening in the Forest Village. Ryu clenched his fist. So the gut feeling had been right. What could be happening? Obviously the biggest threat was the Shira Bandits. According to Aiko, though, they had never launched a full out attack on the village. Rather they would jump people in the forest. What could happen to make that change?

"We need to go try to help."

"Don't be dumb," Ino snapped.

He spun on his heel, ready to speak, but stopped in surprise at what he saw. Ino was trembling, tears leaking from her eyes and mixing in with the rain. Her fear was evident, and once again the guilt was mingled in. "Without Asuma, we don't stand a chance against whoever it is. If it is the Shira Bandits we'll be killed. You could barely take on Toku by yourself, and even then you nearly died."

Even though he could understand her reasoning, a part of him was also bewildered. "We still have to try though, right? What about Shikamaru and Chouji? They're still there."

Before Ino could reply, someone closer than the last two shrieked. Her eyes widened slightly then. She saw it, if only for a brief second, the moment the person screamed. "You're afraid, too."

With a nervous chuckle, Ryu scratched the back of his head. "Of course I'm afraid, but that doesn't matter." His face turned hard once more as he turned to face her, pointing to the headband on his leg. "You know what this is, right?"

"Of course I do." She unconsciously touched her own. "It's your headband. What's that have to do with anything?" Ino demanded, slightly annoyed he'd bring up something seemingly irrelevant in such a dire situation.

"And those people out there?" He gestured toward the village. "They're people of the Land of Fire who greatly need our help. We could run and get other help, yes, but we don't know the situation entirely. We also don't know for sure whose attacking. It could just be a few stray thugs and the villagers could use two extra hands to beat them. Or we may be able to make the difference of a life. Either way, it is our duty as ninja of the Leaf to try and help."

Ino stared, unable to believe the boy in front of her. He was only a genin, yet somehow he had such a strong sense of duty. Was that what happened when one grew up with the Hokage, Ino wondered. Suddenly the plate around her waist felt much heavier.

"Okay then, Ryu," she said. "Let's go."

Ino felt slightly hurt when she saw the shock on Ryu's face. His surprise quickly transformed into a grin. "You know, Ino, you're going to make a really great kunoichi." Without another word, he started toward the village.

Unable to stop himself at his words, the blond smiled slight and followed. _Sakura, you sure have caught the eye of an interesting person._ Then Ino glanced sadly at Ryu's back._Too bad he's still just your second choice._

When they reached the village, Ryu nearly came to a halt. It was most definitely the Shira Bandits that had invaded. According to Yuumai, the earthy toned clothes were their signature look. It helped them blend into the forest. The bandits were yanking people from their homes and shoving them toward a circle of villagers. About ten of the bandits surrounded them. If any village attempted to escape, the bandits would be ready to attack.

A shout from nearby pulled him out of his stupor. He glanced over to see a Shira bandit dragging a lady from a nearby grounded house. The man pulled violently on her hair. When she tried to scratch his arms, she was punished with a painful slap to the face.

"Hey, back off!" It probably wasn't the best of ideas to rush the bandit, but his anger at what they were doing had momentarily overridden his common sense. As he ran, he performed a quick set of hand seals. "Lightning style! Lightning snakes jutsu!" Extending only one hand forward, he released the chakra. Although the power was usually weaker it improved the aim, and he didn't want to risk hitting the woman. This was a special case. With how wet the man was the attack would be its regular strength.

The bandit, too shocked at the sudden use of ninjutsu to move, was hit directly in the chest. The bandit fell, yanking down on the woman's hair. Although she screamed, when the man hit the ground, his grip relaxed enough for her to escape.

The woman glanced back at Ryu as she rose to her feet. "Thank you," she gasped out as she began recovering from her terror.

Ryu smiled. "It's fine. Just get away, okay?" He was met by no argument, and soon she was gone.

"It seems you were right," Ino said. "Maybe we really can save a few lives." She watched the retreating figure of the woman, and Ino then turned to the rest of the village. "I wonder where Shikamaru and Chouji are."

The young Sarutobi shrugged, but her question caused him to start glancing around. "Maybe we'll find them while we help the others. For all we know, they're trying to do the same." Sighting another bandit, Ryu knelt on the ground. With a succession of hand signs, he placed his hands on the ground. Focusing his chakra to the area below the bandit and away from the boy he was attacking, he said, "Lightning style! Static field jutsu!"

The woman went erect as the paralysis took effect. While she was immobilized, the child, although confused, took off. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, the woman began to look around. It took her only moments to realize Ryu was the source of the problem. He grimaced as his jutsu was suddenly broken. Someone had truly trained the bandits.

Before the bandit could move, something lunged at her. She screamed as teeth sunk into her forearm. "Way to go, Shingi! Now get away quick!"

The wild dog did just that. He growled at the bandit before turning and running to Yuumai. By her was Shikamaru, who was bringing his hand into a rat seal. As Ryu watched, his shadow raced forward. Even with the cloud cover there were enough shadows for Shikamaru's to latch to the woman's. For the second time she found herself unable to move.

"Human boulder!"

The cry drew Ryu's eyes a little to the left, and he smiled as he saw a huge green and blue ball charging toward the frozen bandit. She barely had the chance to scream before she was flattened. The ball started to shrink and take shape. Chouji stood there grinning widely at Shikamaru. "That's what I call teamwork!" he exclaimed.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Teamwork that has left you covered in mud," he remarked, looking pointedly at his now brown-tainted clothing.

"That's nothing compared to an old lady who was just smashed into it." Nothing Shikamaru would say could discourage his enthusiasm. He was too happy about taking out another bandit.

Deciding to approach their comrades, Ryu called, "Hey, guys! Over here!"

Just while getting to them Ryu and Ino met two other bandits. Once again Ryu used his static field jutsu, and then Ino used the mind transfer jutsu to take control of one of them men to take the other out. After she released her jutsu, Ryu used a lightning snake jutsu right to his face.

"How many of these guys are there?" Ryu asked when they reached their comrades. Before anyone could answer, more questions spewed out. "Have you guys been taking them out? How can you when they seemed so much stronger before – not that I doubt your abilities or anything. What happened here even?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Don't ask so many questions at once. It's troublesome trying to remember them all. But for starters, yes, we have been trying to take them out. With the ten guarding the villagers, I believe there are twenty others." He glanced around, watching to make sure no new opponents were approaching. "I think those ones we saw in the forest were their strongest sent out to retrieve the necklace, which would be why they were trusted with the Enhancement pills."

"As for what happened," Yuumai interrupted, "the Shira bandits just randomly started attacking. I can't say if they were after the recipe. They did come to our house, but they seemed more focused on capturing the villagers. I even still have the necklace, but they did catch Aiko." She was obviously worried about her sister, but she tried to hide it.

The fact they weren't after the Enhancement pill recipe stumped Ryu. The bandits had no reason to be there if that was the case. He bit down his lip and then shook his head. "This makes no sense."

"No, it doesn't, but that doesn't mean we should just stand here and wonder," Ino said. "You were the one who convinced me to come help these guys," she added, looking at Ryu, "and now you're going to help me do so."

"We shouldn't split up, though," Chouji chimed in. "I think the main reason we're doing so well is because we're all working together." Anything else he may have said was cut off by Shingi's sudden bark.

Yuumai looked in the direction Shingi pointed his snout. "This isn't good." As she spoke everyone was turning around as well. "They're starting to come toward us now that most of the villagers are captured."

Sure enough, most of the bandits had stopped and turned toward their little circle. For some reason, though, none of them were approaching. Even stranger was that most of them were eying Ryu. Feeling uncomfortable, said boy tried to make himself as tiny as possible.

The others were noticing and looking at Ryu as well. "You have any clue what's going on?" Yuumai asked. "Why would all of them be interested in you?"

"Because that punk has caught our leader's interest." Following the voice, Ryu looked over Shikamaru's shoulder to see a familiar man glaring at him. "We were told to keep him alive until our leader gets here. Lucky you, huh, brat?" The last sentence was spat out venomously at Ryu. He reached up to his cheek. "It would be really nice to pay you back."

Senshi, Ryu realized. He was the dude he had punched to save Yuumai. Then what he said began to process. "Why would your boss be interested in me?"

He shrugged. "Not entirely sure myself," Senshi replied. He leaned back against a house, crossing his arms and smirking. "Of course, you'll find out in a couple minutes. He should be here any second."

"Should we try to run?" Yuumai whispered, though she doubtfully glanced around them. They had been encircled by the bandits like the citizens. "Would we stand a chance if we even tried?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Doubtful. At least right now. But we cannot all be captured," he deduced. "If we are, there's no chance of saving the villagers. If anything, we'd have to try when they were least expecting it. Our best bet would be to wait for their boss to appear and their guard is done because they won't have to worry as much."

Why, Ryu wondered, hadn't Shikamaru been like this before? Although he wasn't dead last he had been quite low in the class rankings and rarely did anything. If he was so smart, why hadn't he shown it? Did he truly see it as that much work? He remembered the many times before Ino had complained about being on a pathetic team. She wasn't aware of just how great it really was. Then again, even he hadn't realized it.

Although they were tense, and Ryu was starting to think Yuumai was about to yell out insults or attack, everyone remained in their little group. Shingi paced around his owner, growling randomly at the bandits. Shikamaru stared up at the sky, rain spreading across his face like tears. Chouji somehow produced a bag of chips and began to munch on them. Ino impatiently tapped her foot and continually shifted her weight.

Unable to stop himself from asking after four minutes of waiting, Ryu raised his voice and spoke. "So why are you attacking this town? Why not just grab me and run?" Had they done that with Asuma? He wanted to ask that as well, but he was too afraid of the answer at the moment. It was easier to falsely believe that he had escaped and would possibly save them.

It took Senshi a moment to answer, and Ryu had the feeling he was purposely stalling to annoy him. "Oh, was that question for me? My bad," he said nonchalantly. "I guess because he finally decided it was time to make this village his. He's been waiting for eight months and your sudden appearance gave him another motive to move."

The color drained from Ryu's face as he glanced around. The village had finally been attacked because of him?

"Don't blame yourself," Chouji said, seeing the reaction this caused in the other boy. "You came back just to try and help this village – you tried to save it."

_After I put it in trouble._ Ryu didn't voice his thoughts out loud, seeing no reason since it would cause the others to argue. Even if he had chosen to speak, though, he wouldn't have had the chance.

Movement stirred at the entrance. "Hey, guys, they're here!"

There was more than one? Anyone who would come with the leader would most likely be strong, which just made the situation look more hopeless. The four genin and Forest Village occupants tensed as they watched for the new arrivals. Ino was the first to see them, and she covered her mouth in shock.

"What is it, Ino-" Chouji's voice gradually faded and everyone stared.

Everyone but Ryu, who slowly began to back away, a tremble running through is body. He wasn't sure which feeling was more dominant – fear or confusion. The combination was overwhelming his body, though. This couldn't be happening. It was just impossible. But as he thought it, the two drew closer. One brought forth good memories while the other was one of the two who plagued his nightmares.

The first of the two was Asuma. He stared at his team members, and then through them at Ryu. Regret flashed in his eyes, as well as a bit of pain. The latter walked with great purpose and a sly smile across his face. Just like Asuma his dark eyes were locked on Ryu, but his were filled with hatred and rage.

Daichi Shigamo was the leader of the Shira Forest Bandits.

As if believing it would make this nightmare end, Ryu continually shook his head. This couldn't be. He knew Daichi hadn't been captured, but fate couldn't be that cruel. It had been Shiro who had been the prime demon of his past, but Daichi had played his part as well. After he found out that Daichi had been the one warding off the anbu, more than once he had dreamed of all those deaths Daichi had caused. Those people had been sent to find him, and for that they were dead. Daichi also symbolized that past, and for that reason he brought forth all the fear and pain from then.

And Asuma, the man who had helped him escape him, was now walking right beside him. Why, though? What reason would Asuma have? Why would he work with the enemy?

Unless he didn't know Daichi was the enemy. Two years ago he had been superb with his Kekkei Genkai. Could he have improved it within that time? Could he fool Asuma so thoroughly that he would even work with the Shira Bandits? If so, what would he have said to fool him?

He soon found out. "Ryu, why would you betray us?"

"Betray us?" Ino asked before anyone else could speak up. "Asuma, what in the world do you mean him betray us? You're the one siding with the bad guys!"

Now Chouji spoke up, his own hands shaking. Everyone was in utter shock. "Why would you even be with them, Asuma?"

For some reason, Asuma gave them all a confused look. He looked at Daichi as if that would explain everything. "Why would I be? By Lord Hokage's orders. He's standing right here – he'll explain it all to you. Ryu has betrayed us and we need to convince him otherwise."

So that was who he was making Asuma see – his own father.

"Ryu." Shikamaru's voice barely penetrated his hazy brain. "Ryu, I need you to tell me if that's Daichi Shigamo."

Ino blinked and looked back at Shikamaru. "Daichi Shigamo? Why would you say that?"

He gestured toward Ryu. "There are few signs that point to it. Asuma is obviously seeing someone who isn't there, which can be a sign of genjutsu and can be related to the Shigamo clan, whose signature feature is crimson hair. Not only that, but if you take Ryu's reaction to seeing him into account, it seems to be a likely conclusion."

His line of thought drew Daichi's attention. They were already in front of them and could hear what he had said. The boy was smart, Daichi realized, something Asuma had not told him. He would have to keep that in mind.

As Shikamaru had spoken, Ryu had escaped his fearful state enough to nod. Seeing this, the Nara ordered the others, "Don't look into his eyes. His Kekkei Genkai is a type of genjutsu that causes you to see the person you care for most, but only after he looks into your eyes."

How did he know this when so few did? It had even been his secret weapon against the many anbu. Could it have become more common knowledge after the damage he previously caused?

Seeing the confusion on both Daichi's and his comrades' faces, Shikamaru explained why he knew to them. "It wasn't too hard for me to find out. Since I was curious how one ex-anbu could take out so many teams, I asked my dad. I'm surprised none of you guys did," he added, directing the latter part of the sentence at Chouji and Ino. For such a difficult situation for the other three, it was surprising how calm the boy was. He looked up at the sky again, barely even registering the cold rain. It was his best way at avoiding the other gazes. In such a terrible turn of events, someone needed to remain calm. Since Ino, Chouji, and Ryu had already fallen into terror's grasp, it had to be him.

Daichi laughed. "Such an interesting kid. It's almost sad you may die."

"You big idiot! Like a loser like you could kill anyone!" Yuumai snapped, forcing herself to fight the fear. Shingi barked in agreement, and then he snarled at his new enemy. She turned her glare at Asuma. "Hey, old smoker man, what in the world are you doing? He just threatened your student."

Her words seemed to fly right over Asuma because he didn't react, though Daichi laughed again. "That will do nothing, girl. This man is completely under my genjutsu. It was over the moment he believed I was truly who he saw. He may hear you, but if it doesn't go with what I have said, or who he sees, he won't believe it enough to care."

"It's hopeless," Ryu murmured. His words drew three shocked expressions. Tears streamed from his eyes as he stared at the ground. The rain seemed to entrance him. It was the only thing in all of this that seemed real. "We have no chance." Again he couldn't stop himself from seeing Shiro. Daichi wasn't Shiro, and yet he couldn't seem to shake it. It was too strong of a connection to that man as well as the past. Although he wasn't the worst of the two men, Daichi had still played a key role to that nightmare.

Shikamaru glanced at Ino and then Chouji. Understanding immediately, Ino walked back and grabbed Ryu's wrist. "Ryu, please, you have to snap out of it."

"We can't do anything. Asuma was our only hope. We should just-"

The slap rang through the air. Ryu blinked, slowly looking back at Ino. Everyone stared at the spectacle, slightly interested in this turn of events. Ino stared fiercely at her comrade, one hand falling back to her side while the other still held on to his wrist.

"Ryu, you're an idiot."

Then out of nowhere they were running. Ryu followed merely out of surprise at being yanked. Chouji must have already been prepared, because the next second he was a huge ball again, shooting towards the bandits in the way. Even Daichi was too surprised to do anything as the children escaped into the forest. Yuumai was slightly behind and the bandits almost caught them, but Shingi bit his enemies hard enough to make them try to escape his range.

When Ino noticed that Ryu was still in his numb state, she spoke again. "Please, you have to snap out of this, Ryu," she begged. "We need to get away."

"They'll catch us," he whispered. Ryu could already hear their pursuit. "Asuma... I could barely save Sakura. How could I save him?" He couldn't imagine using the same method. He refused to. There had to be another way to save him. Or was there? Would he be willing after the last time?

"Watch out!"

They were tackled to the ground by Yuumai, a barrage of kunai flying over their head. While the two girls scrambled to their feet, Chouji had to come over and yank Ryu up. On the very edge of his consciousness, he realized Chouji was staring at him, slight tears in his eyes.

They were just genin. Why were they being forced to face an entire gang of bandits lead by an ex-anbu and their own Sensei?

_You should have killed him back then when you had the chance,_ a voice whispered in his head. _You have another chance now. Take it._

_No. Just shut up._

Shira Forest Bandits were slowly forming a circle around them again, smiles on their faces. There were only six of them. Daichi and Asuma weren't among them, so Daichi must have sent his underlings ahead to stop them. While Shikamaru, Chouji, and Yuumai faced toward them, bracing to defend themselves, Ino stood in front of Ryu.

"Ryu, how are we going to save the citizens and Asuma-sensei if you keep acting like this?"

His shoulders and face fell. "How could we save him, Ino? I couldn't even beat Shiro-" Even in his numbed state, he stopped himself from adding _with my own power_. "I couldn't even beat Shiro," he repeated, "and Daichi was around the same strength. How can I beat him now that he has improved?"

She stared at him for a moment before responding. "I know you're terrified, Ryu. We all are, and that must be messing with your mind, because the Ryu I know told me it was my duty to protect the people of the Fire country. And Asuma isn't just any person – he's our Sensei and he's been with you for two years now." For someone who could be so childish at times, she was surprising herself with how mature she sounded. "And you have something now that you didn't have then." Ino gestured to the other three, who were starting to hold off the bandits, and then herself. "You have us now. You'll never be fighting any opponent alone. That's what teamwork is for, right?"

"Guys!" Chouji's voice stopped her from continuing. "Asuma-sensei and that Daichi guy are on their way."

Ino looked back at Ryu. "So who about it? How about we go save Asuma-sensei?"

It was as if she had continually slapped him in the face until he broke through the surface of the haze. He was still submerged slightly, but the fear was slowly dwindling. She was right, he realized. Asuma did need them. Doubt continued to plague him, making him hesitate rather than answer.

Before he could collect himself enough to form a reply Shikamaru cut in. "No, you guys can't. This is a battle we'll lose." Even as he spoke, Yuumai was grabbed and Shingi forced to the ground while someone wrapped his mouth shut. Chouji was just barely holding the people off and Shikamaru's shadow was flickering weakly. "You have to run and get help or something," he ordered.

"But we can't just leave you!" Ryu argued. He was slightly surprised at how big a change Ino's words had caused in him. Ino was momentarily, too, and then she smiled.

Shikamaru turned his head to glare at them. "Don't be a hero here, Ryu. You can't face these guys right now. You're still too mentally shaken, and plus we're running low on chakra. You need to get away or there's no hope for us to save Asuma-sensei!"

Were they all really genin? They each seemed to have faced too much on this one mission already and were making decisions most wouldn't. How could they be scared, though, when their Sensei was in danger? This is what it means to be a ninja, Ryu realized, and they were really embracing it.

"But then you guys will be-" Ino stopped when Ryu put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded in understanding after a moment, and like him, she grew sad at having to leave their team-mates. "Okay."

Feeling a new determination, Ryu turned and faced the bandits in the back. After murmuring his plan to Ino, he rushed forward. A couple feet from their enemies, Ryu fell to his knees and placed his hands to the ground. "Lightning style! Static field jutsu!"

In the slight moment of surprised paralyze, nobody did anything to fight it. This gave Ino the perfect time to dart through. Keeping his hand on the ground, Ryu rushed forward. With only half his focus on it, it grew easy for the bandits to break out, but by then he was past his line and already raising from the ground. Battling with his guilt, Ryu ran off, easily catching up with Ino and nearly racing past her.

It was only half a minute and they heard more signs of pursuit. In one of his rare moments, the genin boy cursed. They had captured the others too quickly. Since he had been unconsciously moving, Ryu was slightly surprised when he ran past their training area. As for where he was going, he wasn't sure. All he knew was moving and getting away as quickly as he could. After so long of glancing back to see if Ino was behind him, he finally just grabbed her wrist so the two of them wouldn't somehow get separated or he could feel if she was grabbed.

In his rush, he didn't hear the roar of the waterfall until it was too late. They were already beside of it with the bandits forming a perimeter around them. Ryu was sure they had been preparing it before because they didn't even have the chance to go along the edge before someone was there. Instead they were right by the edge of the river that drained into the waterfall.

Rather than closing in on them, the bandits simply opened a path for Daichi and Asuma to walk toward them. Almost unconsciously, Ryu stepped in front of Ino. He had a sudden sense of déjà vu as he pictured Ino being her old best friend instead. In this situation, though, he was not going to let her get hurt. He already hated himself enough for allowing his team-mates' and Yuumai's capture.

"No need to be on the defense, young Sarutobi," Daichi said in a chiding tone, taking a few steps forward. Asuma remained where he was, watching every move Ryu made. "Now, how about you listen this time rather than running away?" He smirked as he glanced over his shoulder. "Then again, it's not like you have anywhere to go that wouldn't lead to your death," he remarked.

As if looking down would shrink the size, Ino glanced over the side of the cliff's edge. Now that she was getting a good look, she saw that the river continued at least a hundred feet below. It would be impossible to survive the jump.

Ryu tapped his Leaf headband, trying to resist the urge to touch his ring. Since Daichi had been in the cave, he knew of his strange power. Could that be what this entire matter was about?

With a slightly amused smile, Daichi glanced at Asuma and then jerked his chin toward Ryu. Nodding, the bearded man walked toward his student and stopped a few yards away.

"Ryu, just stop this business, okay?" Asuma pleaded. Even though Ryu could hear pain in his voice, there was no emotion anywhere else. Only now was he beginning to realize the extent of Daichi's ability. "You have no use for the Enhancement pills, so stop this plan with those agreeing with the Sand. If you're planning on _that_, it isn't worth it."

It took him a moment to realize what _that_ was, and then he quickly shook his head. "I would never, Asuma-sensei! You should know that."

At what Asuma must have seen as denial, he turned to Daichi. "Please, Lord Hokage, convince him."

Daichi would have made a perfect actor, as he proved by changing his voice. He sounded pained, his eyes downcast and his mouth pulled down in a slight frown. "I shall try, Asuma, but if he goes berserk, be ready to take him out."

He nodded, backing away so he was behind "the Hokage" again.

"So, since you wouldn't listen to your Sensei, and you also see how deeply he has fallen into my genjutsu, how about you just agree to my proposition?" Although Daichi sounded very calm and reasonable, a dark, victorious gleam glittered in his eyes. "I would like you to join me."

A rhino could have slammed into him and it still wouldn't be as bad. So it really was his fault, even if what he had done was a couple years ago. How was it no matter how hard he tried, his past never let him go? "Why would I join you guys?"

Daichi shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, it's not like your Sensei is under my control and three of your friends have been captured. It's not like you have no choice here." Once a moment of silence passed, he went on. "Of course, if you still will not, I could always kill you here and now," he threw out.

"Ryu," Ino murmured, squeezing his arm. When he glanced back, he saw she was staring at nothing but his back. "We need to save Sensei."

He nodded, trying to figure out what to do. There had to be a way to protect Ino, but the only way they could go was back. If he could use the lightning snake jutsu, he could stop their fall, but would he have time? How could he assure that he would slow down Ino as well?

_You're right – you're doomed. So just release me and I will destroy our enemies._

Ryu mentally scoffed. _I know about your "enemies". That means anyone who isn't me._

He could sense the shrug that was given in response. _Maybe this is so, but it may also be the only way to escape. How else can you save the girl? Who knows? Maybe if you're kind to me, I'll even save your Sensei,_ the voice offered.

_Or…._ An idea was slowly forming in his head. He turned to Ino, and had to remind himself to speak aloud. "Ino, do you trust me?"

The blond gave him a confused look, not understanding why he would dare turn his back to his enemy. "Of course I trust you, Ryu."

"Then don't freak out too much when I do this." Before anyone could connect any dots, Ryu charged forward and wrapped his arms around the girl. He hurled himself over the edge, hearing shouts both from above and from Ino. He was slightly taller, so his head was above hers. With a slight bend, he made it so his back would make first contact._Here's the deal. Either you save me, or we both die._

It was a flawed plan, Ryu knew. There was the chance he would do nothing and Ryu would die. If so, though, Ino would live. If he complied, they were both saved and away. Maybe it wasn't the best plan, but with their situation, it was the only one he could think of.

"Ryu!"

Then he felt it – that momentary stop as something crashed against the water. An aura of chakra had surrounded them just long enough for their speed to greatly decrease. Then it was gone and they were swallowed by the water.

****

It was similar to when he first woke up at the Kumoichi's, except this time he hadn't awoken a few times prior. Ryu awoke by himself, staring at a cloth ceiling. Was he in a tent? With a groan, he sat up. The earth he appeared to have been laying on hadn't been well on his body. His hair was damp and stuck to him. It took him a moment to remember his fall into the river.

He was alive? Ryu sagged in relief. Then that meant he really had pulled through. If that was so, then Ino was alive, too. She must have swum to shore with him. Although that conclusion wasn't unlikely, he suddenly looked at the tent again, which he was now sure it was. Even if she had helped him, she hadn't had any supplies. Where would a tent have come from?

Someone outside began to speak, but the voice was unfamiliar. When another voice, this one most definitely Ino's, replied, Ryu felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Then there was no doubting it at all. They had both lived despite how crazy his plan had been. Deciding he should find out what was going on, he opened the tent flap and stepped out.

"Ryu!" She must have just gotten up because she was already on her feet and tackling him in a hug. "It is so nice to see you awake."

Although caught off guard, Ryu returned the hug. When she pulled away, he noticed she was no longer in her usual purple garb, but rather in pink. It was similar to Sakura and made him do a double take in confusion. Looking down, he saw he, too, was in a different outfit. It would explain how both of them were dry. "Where did I get these clothes?" he asked.

Ino pointed toward the place she had come from. There were four people sitting around a fire. They were most likely a team consisting of a jonin and two boy genin and one girl. Judging from their headbands, they were also from the Sand. "The clothes you're wearing are Kaine's extra sleeping wear. That's him over there." She pointed toward a nicely tanned boy around their age.

For the first time actually noticing his features, as well as the girl's by him, Ryu's eyes narrowed in confusion. The girl had dark skin as well. It was a trait more common for those in the Lightning country than the Wind. Their headbands said something different, though.

"These guys helped us out. I had just pulled you out of the water when they found us," Ino explained. "They were on their way to the Leaf when they passed by the river."

"How long have I been out?"

After a quick calculation, Ino replied, "For about three hours."

Three hours. During that time, the others were in the enemies' hands. Were they okay? Daichi had no reason to hurt them. If anything, they would be used to try and convince Ryu to join Daichi. At least that was what he had to tell himself or he'd rush back to the Forest Village and do whatever to save them.

Returning from his thoughts, Ryu glanced over their saviors once more before turning to their Sensei. He was on the darker side, making it harder to distinguish his features. Even without being able to see his face, Ryu bowed. "Thank you all for saving me and my comrade."

"Don't mention it," the jonin said, leaning forward so the light of the fire washed over him. "I'm Raido Gansaku, the jonin of this squad." A sudden smile pulled at his lips as Ryu met his eyes. He was shocked when he saw them.

"Gansaku, you said?"

"You would be correct to question me," Raido said, nodding in approval. "It may be easier for you if you knew me real name."

"Sensei, are you really going to tell him already?" the one Ino had said was Kaine questioned.

Raido shrugged. "I see no reason to keep it from him. He has a right to know."

Her interest quipped, Ino just had to jump in. Although Ryu could see it coming, it was a complete mystery to her. "What do you mean your real name?" she probed.

His pale eyes twinkled. "Well, my true name is Raido Zenjin."

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><p><strong>Does anyone recognize the last name? If you don't, go back to Chapter 4 - Superman.<strong>

**So, one cliff hanger to the other. Don't you guys love me? XD**

**Previous question answer: He betrayed them by joining the Shira bandits, who they had been trying to stop, but also avenged them by killing the ones who killed them while a part of the bandits.**


	13. Capture

**Just a little half chapter that is kind of a test run for writing in Yuumai's PoV. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Everything was a blur of motion and pain. Yuumai violently threw her body to each side, trying to escape the arms closed around her. Ryu and Ino had just taken off, leaving them to fend for themselves. That was only natural. The moment she realized the Leaf team didn't provide her the best choice of escaping, she had tried to bolt as well.<p>

Never turn your back on your enemy, Ryu's lesson from before basically chided. That means no running or turning. The moment you do, you have lost.

Enraged by her own inability to do anything, her thrashing became wilder. A whimper from the captured Shingi only fueled her flame more. "Let me go!" she cried.

At first her only reply was a snort and tighter grip. A moment later he cried out as Yuumai clamped down on his arm. She took her opportunity and jumped forward, wrenched her body from his grip. Although off balance, Yuumai managed to turn and face her old captor. A stream of uncomplimentary words flowed from his mouth as he examined the puncture wounds in his forearm.

"You're going to pay for that, you little brat." The man swung wildly at Yuumai.

To her amusement, she realized this was exactly how she used to punch, and it was absolutely pathetic. Even if they had been trained, they made such an idiotic mistake as to underestimate her. With a superior feeling, she blocked with ease. She was shocked when she stumbled to the side. The man had a great momentum that left her arm tingling to the point of near numbness. She may have training, but that didn't bring physical strength or great pain tolerance. Maybe she could take a few more hits, but the guy would keep coming with more. How could she run if she couldn't take him out?

Her answer came in the form of a giant fist crashing down on the bandit. She yelped and jumped away before realizing it belonged to Chouji. When she looked at him, he was already turning back to his own opponents, barely able to keep the arm free that had just saved her. Surely it had been an accident, right? No idiot would use what could have been their last attack to save someone else. Even if it stung, Ryu had done the smart thing in running. They should be trying to, too. Anything to save your own butt.

Yet right before she ran, Yuumai paused and glanced back at her wild dog. Shingi was still giving it all to break the wrapping around his snout and claw at the bandits who had captured him, but still he continued to watch her. If anyone had ever been her friend, it was him. No matter what happened, he didn't judge her or grow angry at her. He was just there for her.

Now she was leaving him. How could she save him, though? He was tightly within the bandits' clutches. It would only get them both captured. Something in Shingi's eyes told her even if he was a dog, he knew that as well. He wants me to go, Yuumai realized. He doesn't want me captured any more than I want him captured. Only thing is, he's the one that is caught and I'm the one who is free. I'd want him to run if he could, too, wouldn't I?

Despite the biting guilt eating at her, Yuumai turned from Shingi and took off. Shouts followed after her. Something must have made them stop, though, because she heard no sign of pursuit. Maybe they had decided she wasn't nearly as big a threat as the two shinobi they had grabbed. It made sense seeing as she had only about a week of training. Even if it had been a short week, she could definitely notice her increase in stamina as the distance between her and the struggle grew.

Yuumai came to a panting stop as her energy ran out. She had at least made it a mile or so. Even if she felt a bit safe without hearing anyone behind her, she began to search for cover. It was idiotic to stand exposed out in the open.

The only suitable spot she could find was in the trees. With an annoyed huff at the need for more energy, Yuumai focused her chakra to her feet. Unlike when she first learned it, she didn't even pause before climbing the tree. Her journey was slower than her usual one as she tried to quiet her footsteps. If the men chasing her were skilled enough, though, surely they would hear her anyway. This was her internal argument as she finally just darted up the tree.

Finding safety within the green cover, Yuumai began to relax. Then everything came rushing back. She bit down on her lip, trying to keep back the fear as it all replayed. Sitting down on the couch while Aiko prepared dinner. Listening to Chouji fuss about running out of chips. The cries from outside. Their own door crashing down. Aiko's shrieks as she struggled, crying to Yuumai to run. Her struggle with Chouji and Shikamaru to defeat the bandits that stayed to deal with them and running into the battlefield outside. Her home, completely invaded by the Shira Forest bandits.

She was shocked to find her body trembling and small tears trickling from her eyes. Mentally berating herself for being so weak, Yuumai wiped away her tears. "I'm just pathetic," she grumbled. "Stuck here and unable to do anything."

All she could do for the next thirty minutes was listen. Although the rain brought her some peace, she stayed alert for the tiniest sign of the bandits. It grew hard as her thoughts strayed, running in circles of questions.

What should she do? What could she do? Could she save Aiko and Shingi? If so, what could she do to achieve that? Should she save the rest of the villagers as well? Then again, they weren't her concern. She just couldn't leave her sister and dog. It would be nearly as bad a betrayal as her brother's.

"Any sign of Ryu?"

Yuumai had been so lost in thought she didn't realize bandits were below her until she heard the voice below her. And it wasn't just any bandit either.

"No, sir. I've searched the area around the river," someone else responded.

Although their voices had already confirmed it, part of her still didn't believe her bad luck until she looked down. Asuma and Daichi stood right below her, speaking as if they really were in leagues with each other. Were they? Shikamaru said that Asuma was under some genjutsu, but what if he was wrong?

Daichi glared at nothing in particular. "They couldn't have wondered too far," he said. "Both would have been at least injured or tired. Neither could have moved far if they carried the other. Senshi also cannot sense the Sarutobi boy with the jutsu he had placed on him either, but you have not taught any of them how to dispel genjutsu placed on them."

The jounin exhaled from his cigarette. It was such a disorienting feeling to see Asuma by a man associated with many Forest villagers' nightmares. How hard must it have been on Ryu seeing as he knew both much more than she did? "Could Ino's slap have shocked him out of the jutsu?"

"No, that isn't possible. I asked Senshi. The only way to get rid of is if he or an outside source messing with his chakra."

Ryu was under a genjutsu? As Yuumai thought it over, it wasn't too surprising. Senshi would have had plenty of time to use it while they waited for Daichi and Asuma. What did it do, though? How had Ryu acted different besides being so afraid? Any normal person would have reacted like that, though.

There was a small whispered exchange between the two, and then Asuma asked, "What would you like me to do, Lord Hokage?"

"Send Senshi," he replied. "If nothing happens by nightfall that could lead us to Ryu, he can bring them back."

Yuumai stared in confusion, but nothing else was said before they headed back toward the village. As they passed directly under her, she held her breath. Her precautions were unnecessary. Moments later they were gone and she was alone again.

Even if nobody was around that she knew of, Yuumai relaxed against the tree again rather than moving. How could she know if all the bandits were gone? Daichi seemed to be searching for Ryu and Ino. That meant somehow they really had escaped. It also meant the bandits could be scouring the forest for them. Most likely she'd have to wait until early morning to move. The only upside was the rain was beginning to fade to a mere drizzle.

Minutes ticked by into hours until night had fallen. The rain had ended, and a few stars peaked through the clouds. Although highly uncomfortable, her eyelids began to feel weighed down. With a yawn, the young girl sunk down into the tree. It wouldn't be too dangerous if she slept, right? They were searching for Ryu, and if neither Daichi nor Asuma had been looking around when she saw them, they must have already covered the area.

Darkness closed in on her as she grew closer to drifting to sleep. Images drifted through her unconscious state. She saw a familiar dead body on the ground, blood caking the ground beneath. Two pale faces stood out against a dark table, Aiko standing on the opposite side with tears streaming down her cheeks. They're dead. I'm all alone.

No, go away! Yuumai cried at her memories. She clawed at head, as if that would chase away the dream.

The sudden creak of the branch jerked her, somewhat thankfully, awake. It was harder to adjust to the night with her tired eyes. When she saw who it was, Yuumai screamed and kicked wildly. Senshi easily caught her foot.

"That won't work on me, kid." He twisted, causing Yuumai to roll off the branch. If Senshi didn't have a grip on her leg, she would have fallen to the ground. The bandit jumped to the ground and took her with him. She kicked him in the jaw when they landed. With a grunt, Senshi released Yuumai.

She quickly scrambled away. To her surprise, her new opponent made no move toward her and simply smiled. It made her more uneasy than if he had chased after her. Rising to her feet, Yuumai began to back away even more.

Senshi raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he brought his hand into a tiger sign.

Her body suddenly began to tremble to the point she dropped to her knees. She was alone with nobody to save her. It was absolutely hopeless. The feeling was strangely similar to when her parents died and her brother betrayed them. Why, though? Of course she'd been afraid before. Maybe she had even felt alone. But why would it suddenly amplify with Senshi suddenly making a hand sign?

"I bet you don't want to move." As he spoke, the dark haired man walked toward him. His smile never wavered, not even when he knelt down before her. "You disappoint me a bit. I was really hoping you'd go find Ryu. Then again, it's just natural for a selfish human to try and hide themselves rather than help others."

Yuumai could do nothing but watch in her paralyzed state as Senshi wrapped his hand around her throat. When Asuma and Daichi had spoken about it leading them to Ryu, they had meant her. All along they'd known she was there, and had sent Senshi to watch her. Now that night had fallen, he was going to take her prisoner. There was no fighting it, only accepting it.

Weakling. You shouldn't be so afraid, she chastised herself as she continued to do nothing as Senshi prevented her from breathing. Why would I be able to, though? I can't do anything and I'm against an opponent stronger than me. It's hopeless.

Ryu wouldn't give up. He fought Toku anyway.

Any amount of hope that stirred into her was too late. The darkness already had her in its grasps. Nobody was going to save her this time. Yuumai had been on her own, and she had failed.


	14. Because of You

**Okay, first off, I meant for this to have another part in it. But I figured it's been three months, I want to try to work on my other things, I should try to write shorter chapters so I can get them out faster, and you guys just deserve an update, so I am adding it to the next chapter and taking out a part that was supposed to be in the next chapter to form one chapter. The only downside is that means the real action won't start for another couple of chapters. And trust me, it'll be fun because it'll be the first real action you guys get to see. Also means you guys don't get to learn about what I planned on you learning, but you can just deal with the anticipation that you may or may not feel ^_^**

**Okay, a few quick disclaimers. First, Because of You belongs to Kelly Clarkson. It used to be for Never Too Late, but now that it's being rewritten, I don't have to worry about that XD. Secondly, Taiki belongs to Saku-chan. He was created because she got second place in a contest I held a while ago.**

**Okay, now for the question:**

**_Where did Yuumai hide after she ran?_**

**Anyway, off the the chapter for you guys and off to thinking of what I'm going to do with the next chapter for my other stories. Hope you enjoy.** **6-19-13**

* * *

><p>"Zenjin?" Ino allowed the name the roll of her tongue, testing it as it left her lips. She had never heard of it before, but it had definitely received a reaction from Ryu. Even if she suspected he was waiting to hear the name, he became rigid once it was out. "Is that a Wind country clan?" she asked, though still unsure why that would cause such a sudden change in the atmosphere.<p>

Ryu slowly shook his head. He bit the inside of his lip, wondering if he should have asked his question so openly. Ino was right beside him, listening to every word that was said. A quick mental war broke loose within Ryu's mind. It was just a surname, and that couldn't do any harm. It just wasn't something he commonly gave out. Neither was his homeland, but that couldn't hurt either. "Zenjin is my true clan name, and it comes from the Lightning country," he explained.

Without meaning to, he began to remember his home country. He unintentionally avoided saying it whenever he could, so it felt somewhat nostalgic to speak it again. Images of soaring mountains, twisting rivers, foggy valleys, monstrous thunder storms, and occasional plains flashed through Ryu's mind.

While he was lost in thought, Ino had been studying him. "So, you're from the Land of Lightning?" There were many unknowns when it came to Ryu. One of those included where he came from. All anyone Ino knew was he was a kid the Hokage took under his wing. Where he came from and who he really was had been a question of many during his first year, though it had mostly faded afterwards. It was still a treat to find out anything about her mysterious team-mate, though. Then it registered what that meant about Raido, and possibly his team. "That would mean you're from the Lightning, too," she summarized as her focus turned to him. "But then why did you say you're from the Sand Village?"

Raido sent Ryu a questioning look. Ino barely caught it, but Ryu gave a small shake of his head. Whatever the unspoken question was, Raido got his answer. The man sighed before addressing her question. "It was just a simple change. I had already adopted Kaine and Hime-" for Ryu's benefit, Raido gestured toward the dark skinned boy and pink-clad girl- "and then I moved to the Sand Village. The reason is personal, so I hope you don't mind if I keep that to myself."

It was a lie, and Ryu was in on what the truth was. Ino glanced between both Zenjins. Something told her no amount of prying would get the real answer. "Is your reason for leaving personal, too, Ryu?" She couldn't keep the suspicion out of her voice, and Ryu's guilty expression confirmed he was keeping something from her that he didn't plan on saying.

"Yeah, it was personal," he replied as he averted his gaze. It must have dawned on him only three names were mentioned because he looked at the other boy on Raido's squad. "So are you from the Sand Village?" Ryu asked.

He definitely didn't look like he was from the Lightning country. Then again, Ryu didn't think those in the Sand Village had such vibrant green hair either. His eyebrows were strangely a brown color, mismatching with his bangs. "That's right," the boy replied. "I'm from the Sand Village. My name is Taiki. It's nice to meet you."

Taiki grinned, and Ryu smiled in return. Before long his eyes returned to Raido. He still could not believe the twist of fate. He had expected his jump off the waterfall to lead to his death at most, not a blast from his past. Raido even looked familiar, but he could not place where he had seen him before. Questions begged to be let free. Ryu kept them under control, more aware of Ino's presence than he had been when he asked for Raido's clan name. Did any of his squad members know? His eyes slid over them, pausing on Kaine, who eyed him intently.

"So you're both from the Lightning country as well?"

"Yep. I'm Hime Enjin," Hime greeted.

A small smirk pulled on Kaine's lips. "And I'm Kaine Zenjin."

Ryu nearly gawked. Not just one, but two Zenjins sat before him. He rubbed his eyes. Could this just be a dream? Would he wake up from it to find he was back at the Komichi's home? Or, worse, within Daichi's clutches? "I cannot believe this is happening," he said. The thoughts had just slipped out, but it was true. Their first mission outside the village had suddenly made many sudden twists. _I wonder if Naruto would mind switching me places right about now. I'm sure he'd find this fun._

"It is hard to take in," Raido admitted. "It almost seems as if we were supposed to meet."

"There must be something helping you out. After all, no normal person could survive such a fall." The truthful statement brought all eyes to Taiki. For the first time, Ryu noticed a small metal device in his hands. Although unsure of what it was, Taiki was obviously fiddling with it. His hands moved with an ease that gave away how often he tinkered with things. Almost a second later a small screw driver was in his hand. "Unless, of course, there was an outside source that saved you. If it was what people call fate, then something may have happened to suddenly slow your fall, or there was something else to break your fall into the water." The young boy appeared completely oblivious to the attention he had caught. "Of course, even then fate would have had to do something. It wouldn't make sense for your body to just stay intact. Maybe a giant fish swam past at the same time and slowed your fall. Or perhaps-"

Ino's eyes widened, though it was doubtful the cause was the continued talk of fate. "He's right." She considered Ryu curiously while Taiki's chatter drew to an end as he noticed the topic had just been snatched from him. "There was something that slowed us down. It was some strange type of energy," she explained. "It suddenly surrounded us and nearly stopped the fall a little above the water, but I don't know where it came from."

The entire time she spoke, Ryu felt Raido's eyes drilling into him. He knew exactly what had happened. Biting his lip, he began to play nervously with his ring. Ryu could remember the fearful respect from before all too well. With the reminder of what he was able to do, would Raido begin acting like most from his village had then?

"It was his chakra, wasn't it?" Raido voice was bordering a whisper it was so soft. He knew the delicate territory he was treading into.

Something about what he said caught Ryu's interest. "His chakra?" He lifted his head so he was staring into pale eyes similar to his own. "How do you know it's male?" Even if Ryu knew that its appearance was that of a teenage boy, he had never been sure if that was its actual gender.

Raido replied, "I'm not sure if that is what it actually is, but it has always taken the form of a male when humanoid." When he saw no recognition in Ryu's eyes, the elder Zenjin raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you were never told who he is, were you?"

Ryu shrugged and glanced away. Kaine and Hime appeared to know what Raido spoke of, but Taiki was just as confused as his own team-mate. "I was just told some things like it gave me some powers and stuff."

Raido sighed, shaking his head. "Of course," he said. "Knowing your father, he wouldn't have told you anything about yourself. Do you even know why you hold the spirit?" Sympathy shone in his pale eyes as he leaned forward. "Do you want me to tell you who he is?"

Ryu's eyes slid to Ino, sitting perfectly still, her eyes flickering between him and Raido, her pale jade eyes confused. He couldn't blame her. All she could do was pick up small pieces of what they were talking about. Nobody would understand what Raido meant when he asked Ryu if he wanted to know who it really was.

His eyes dropped, fear making him not want to speak. How could he tell Ino his secret? He'd been running from it, from what was inside him, for years now. He had seen how Sakura reacted. Would she fear him just the same? What about himself? Did he want to know? After all, after either of them heard, they couldn't forget it.

Ino, feeling his gaze, turned to look at him as well. Her curiosity was obvious. "You don't want me to hear what he has to say, do you?" she guessed.

Although his mouth opened and closed multiple times, no words came out. Ryu gave a half hearted shrug. How was he supposed to respond? If she found out, she would fear him, right? He looked at Raido, hoping he could give him some kind of answer.

"It's up to you," Raido replied. He was doing an exceptional job at reading Ryu's unspoken questions. "It just depends on if you trust her enough. As for Taiki, I can guarantee he will be fine."

Once again he turned to face his team-mate. Ryu's jaw locked as he looked guiltily away. He hated keeping secrets, especially from his fellow squad members, but it scared him to think of her expression. What did he do? If he said he didn't want to tell her, she'd be hurt. But if he did tell her, she'd be afraid of him. Wouldn't she?

Ino spoke, but her voice was soft and somewhat sad. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Ryu. Everyone has their secrets." Guilt surfaced in her eyes, similar to before. Was she keeping a secret, too?

"How about this? Why not tell me tomorrow?" Raido suggested after a moment of silence. "If you still want me to tell you then, I will. It can be alone or around the others – it's up to you." When Ryu hesitantly agreed to the idea, the jounin rose to his feet. "After that, we'll figure out a way to save your friends and this Forest Village," he added.

Ryu had been getting up himself, but paused when he heard Raido. "Wait – you want to help us save them?" He wasn't sure why he was so surprised. Just like him, they were ninja who were supposed to protect the innocent. "But don't you have your own mission? Otherwise you wouldn't be here." Realizing how he sounded, Ryu quickly said, "Not that I don't want help or anything. I'm just, well, surprised."

Hime giggled. She leaned back, the fire lighting up her chocolate-colored skin. "Of course we will. The mission is important, but if we were dead set to complete it, we wouldn't have stopped to help you out," Hime remarked.

With a nervous laugh, Ryu scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Then it's settled," Raido concluded. "My team and I will take turns with watch while you two get some rest. It shouldn't start raining again, but just in case, you two can have the tent that is already put up. It's a bit small, but you both can fit."

After thanking the man, and a few failed attempts of protest from Ryu, he and Ino slipped into the tent Ryu had slept in before. Raido had been right – it was a tight fit. If both were on their backs, their shoulders were against each other and the tent edges. The fire still flickered outside, illuminating the inside with an orange glow. Ryu could not help but stare at its dancing movement, trying to process everything that happened.

"Ryu, how did everything spiral so much?"

Her voice had given it away, but Ryu still felt his heart clench when he looked over and saw trails of tears running down her jaw. "I don't know, Ino," he murmured. Everything had spun out of control so quickly. If anyone else had been sent on the same mission, would it have ended the same? After all, Ryu had been the catalyst that caused Daichi to move. If he hadn't been a part of Team 10, they probably would have gone through the mission without a hitch.

"Do you think we can save them? Do you think Raido and the others will be enough to help us out?" Ino asked.

Although Ryu wanted nothing more than to assure her, he shrugged. "I really don't know, Ino. They may be able to. After all, the bandits aren't all ninja." It was the only comfort he could give her, and the two fell into silence. Ryu, assuming Ino had fallen asleep, wiggled until he was comfortable. He was just about to drift off when Ino spoke again.

"Are you going to have Raido tell you about, well, whatever, Ryu?"

At first he wanted to pretend he had fallen asleep, but in the end sighed and collected his thoughts. "I don't know. I'm kind of afraid to get my answer," he replied, refusing to look at her out of guilt. Ryu suddenly realized he was fiddling with his ring again. Out of habit he had reached over and began playing with it. For the first time he wished he would let Ino know. Then he wouldn't have to be alone if Raido told him.

Another period of quiet followed. Ryu remained awake this time, figuring Ino was thinking. He was proven right moments later. "I know it probably won't help, but I can understand if you don't want me to know. After all, I haven't told you everything, and you know it," Ino said. "Every time you've asked me what was wrong, I brushed it off and said it was nothing."

With a bit of a jolt, Ryu realized he was acting the same way Ino had been recently. He felt guiltier remembering how he'd felt when she shut him out.

"I'm not saying this because I want you to tell me, but I also realize after today how much it stinks being shut out. Your thing seems way bigger, and I only lied about mine because I was trying to face it myself. I guess I didn't trust you enough before to help or something, but now I feel like you deserve to know. After all, it's part of the reason this is all happening. My mom is dying," the Yamanaka explained.

His eyes widening, Ryu shot up into a sitting position. Ino was looking at the flickering shadow cast by the fire has he had been before, distant from the world around her. Pain was etched into her features, especially her eyes. Even if she tried to hide in everywhere else, her eyes betrayed her. "How?" Ryu's voice had dropped to a mere whisper

Ino rolled her head so their gazes met, the tears glistening before trickling out. "My mom smelled a flower she mistook for a Tsubaki. It was something called a Doudan(*1), and its scent slowly kills a person in a month. One of the few cures for it comes from the medicine the Forest Villagers were making." Ino's words trailed off as she lost her will to speak. The tears streamed freely down her cheeks. When she finally regained her voice, she continued, "Because of this, Asuma-sensei tried even harder to find the herb, and he even went out farther where he'd be all alone. That Daichi guy caught him in his genjutsu, and now we're in this predicament."

Slowly digesting this information, Ryu settled back on his earthy bed. So Ino was being eaten by guilt, just like him. Also just like him, she was blaming herself for Asuma's capture. Even if he tried not to think of it, the little voice continued to sneak up on him, reminding him of his own part in his sensei's capture. Suddenly he realized that little voice wasn't just a devil on his shoulder. It was the voice – no, it was _him_, as Raido had told Ryu.

_If only you had allowed me to remain free, I could have killed them both Daichi and Shiro and this never would have happened._

Ryu quickly shook off the thought. "I'm sorry, Ino." He knew all too well how little affect those words had, but he had to comfort her in some way.

After the first tear escaped, more followed to the point Ino was silently sobbing. "This isn't fair," she muttered. "This is just too much."

It was just like when he was kidnapped with Sakura, putting pressure on two people too young to deserve it. The thought also gave him an idea. Just like the first night of their kidnapping, though now by his own act, Ryu grasped Ino's hand. The simple contact must have brought some comfort, because Ino's sobs began to lessen. Ryu's own fear ebbed a bit with the knowledge he wasn't alone.

"Don't worry, Ino. I promise you, we'll save everyone and get the medicine for your mother." He was not letting Ino go through the pain of losing someone she cared about, not if he could prevent it. And with his promise, he began to believe they, along with Raido and his team, could actually do it. They _had_ to do it.

All he heard in response from Ino was a few sniffles. Once she managed to suppress her tears, she murmured in a voice barely audible to Ryu, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ryu whispered back, a weak smile on his face. He waited to see if Ino would say anything else, but a few moments later a soft snore emitted from his team-mate. She was asleep. With a slight chuckle, Ryu's attention shifted to the upcoming day.

They would be attempting – no, they would be rescuing the rest of Team 10 and the Forest villagers. Not only that, but Ryu would choose whether or not to find out about the voice that had plagued him his entire life. Two major life altering events in one day. Finding out about what was in him was obviously the smaller occurrence, but he was facing it alone, and that was what scared him most about it. He couldn't risk Ino finding out, though.

_Why not? Do you not trust her? She trusted you enough to trust her with the problems of her heart._

That hadn't been her reason for telling him, though. It hadn't been an exchange for him to open up. He knew that. And he also knew of the relief it brought to share something with someone else. Both Hiruzen and Asuma knew his secrets, and because of that it was easier to bear. If Ryu let Ino know, was he just being weak? No, he was being weak by being too afraid to trust Ino just because of how she may feel. Did he have any right to place that burden of the truth he would carry on her, though?

Was that going to be his excuse to always hide the truth? Would he always hide who he truly was from those he cared for? After all, even if Asuma knew the truth, he only knew because he had asked Hiruzen. Would Ryu have ever told him directly? No, he knew that for a fact. When was the last time he had truly told someone anything since Hiruzen? A cold chill ran down his spine as a face passed through his mind. Not since then. Why? What was stopping him? Why couldn't he trust Ino enough to still be there knowing the truth?

Similar thoughts danced through his mind, leaving him in a fitful sleep. Almost every time a dream did manage to form, it would either be Sakura's face after seeing his unleashed form or a mirror image of one on Ino's face. The only time he received any relief was when he dreamt of his team around him, not in the clutches of Daichi, but together like they should be.

*~*~*~*~

Something hard dug into her back, and any attempts to move brought her into more uncomfortable positions. Her wrists felt sore. It felt as if something was cutting into the skin. Not only that, but a cold surface circled her ankles.

Yuumai's eyes slowly blinked open. At first everything around her was dark. As her eyes adjusted, she realized the room she was in wasn't even a room. It appeared to be a cave. Lights circled the ceiling, brightening the area. This gave her a clear view of the circular walls, only one opening provided to exit. The cavern wasn't too large, but it was big enough to keep at least eight feet between her and the other two captives she saw. Across from her was Chouji, chained like she figured she was. Between them and across from the only exit was Shikamaru. He was in a similar situation, except he appeared to be asleep.

"Yuumai, you okay?"

Hearing Chouji's voice, her gaze returned to him. His wrists were red from struggling, and he had a few bruises, but overall he appeared okay. If anything he appeared relieved to see Yuumai awake.

Remembering that she had been asked a question, Yuumai flexed her body. She felt sore, but nothing was permanent. "I'm fine, just hurting a bit," she replied. "Where are we?"

"The Shira bandits captured us and took us to their hideout," Chouji explained. "So far they haven't really bothered us since they questioned if we knew anything about where Ryu would have gone and when they brought you in."

A shiver crawled up Yuumai's spine as she recalled her previous experience with Senshi. The feeling he had made her feel somehow of being completely alone still lingered on the edge of her mind. Even if she was angry with Ryu and Ino for running away, they didn't deserve to go through that.

_Oh well. Their fault for running,_ she thought bitterly.

"Looks like you're all awake."

It was as if thinking of him had summoned him. The chill returned, only this time it wasn't fading. Her eyes slowly slid over to Shikamaru, thinking he had been asleep. After all, it gave her a reason not to look at the Shira bandit. Even if moments before it looked like he was asleep, his eyes were now open, focused on their enemy.

Next she looked at Chouji. His eyes were narrowed, his dislike for Senshi obvious. When he felt Yuumai's eyes on him, he looked at her and smiled reassuringly. Her fear must have been showing. After a moment he returned his gaze to the man.

Finally Yuumai made herself look in his direction. He had taken a seat on the ground, leaning back against the wall. As if sensing how she felt, Senshi smirked at her. "Looks like I am very welcomed here," he observed as he examined the prisoners. "Don't worry. You'll be absolutely thrilled in a few minutes. Daichi planned on talking to you all when you were all awake."

Senshi's announcement only increased the tension as everyone stared at the opening beside him. According to Chouji, the Shira bandit leader had already questioned them, so why was he doing it again? Was he hoping to find out something new now that Yuumai was here? But he had already known where she was for quite a bit of time. Or did he think that she may have rendezvoused with Ryu before they found her? After all, they didn't seem to know where he had gone. For all they knew, she had met him before they had sent Senshi to spy on her.

Silence fell over the group as both Senshi and Shikamaru appeared to doze off while Chouji looked dejectedly at his growling stomach. Apparently the other two had grown used to being left to just hang around.

Yuumai, however, glowered at the shackles holding her to the wall. Even if she knew it was no use and would only hurt her, she struggled against the metal. As she knew it would, the metal bit into her skin, but it didn't stop her. _This is nothing,_ the girl told herself, trying to ignore the stabs of pain as she twisted and wiggled her arms. With a large, annoyed huff, Yuumai's attempts faded as she reasoned she needed a break.

"You know, if you want out that bad, I could help you."

Senshi smiled wickedly as Yuumai focused on him, twirling a kunai around his finger. It took her a moment to understand what he was implying. Goosebumps traveled along her skin as she forced a glare in Senshi's direction. It only earned her a laugh.

Even if she hated Senshi, she preferred him over the person who stepped into the cavern a moment later. "Enjoying yourself, Senshi?" Daichi asked.

The lower ranked bandit shrugged as he rose to his feet. "Gotta amuse myself somehow when there's nothing to do," he said. "This just proved a good way." He barely glanced in Yuumai's direction, and then a silver blur flew between them. Yuumai's yelp mixed with Senshi's laugh as the kunai pierced the wall beside her arm, cutting the top of her arm. It wasn't deep, but it scared her and stung.

"Hey!" Chouji yelled, once again pulling on the chains that bound him. It ceased, though, when Daichi turned to him. Instantly he dropped his gaze, too afraid to risk being caught by a genjutsu. At least that was Yuumai's guess. For all she knew he was just afraid.

"Trust me, boy. He could have very easily pierced her arm, so you should be thankful he was being nice." Daichi's tone was surprising light, but it also had an edge to it that cancelled out any friendliness he tried to fake. As if speaking of her reminded him she was there, Daichi turned to face Yuumai. "So nice for you to finally wake up and join us," he said. "I would suggest that you cooperate with any question I ask. After all, isn't a family member of yours also in our captivity?"

The color drained from Yuumai's face. He had just threatened Aiko. How dare he? She felt her anger begin to show, her lips pulling down in a near snarl and her eyes narrowing.

Daichi simply chuckled. "I'll take that as we have an understanding." He met her eyes, and even if every part of her screamed that it was dangerous because of his Kekkei Genkai, she refused to back down and look away after he threatened her sister. "Did you meet up with Ryu before you were captured?"

Her stubbornness got the better of her and she simply continued to glare.

With a sigh, Daichi glanced over at Senshi. "I used to have a partner who was in the Yamanaka clan. He had the ability to cause great mental pain to a person." He jerked his chin toward Yuumai, and the other man nodded in understanding. "If there's one thing he taught me, it was that mental torture works better than any type of physical torture."

Before Yuumai even had the chance to be confused, a strong surge of loneliness and hopelessness nearly suffocating her. She gasped for air. It didn't help in the slightest. Her body began to tremble, and if not for the shackles, she would have fallen to her knees again. Images of her dead brother and parents flashed through her mind like they had before, only now they were accompanied by a new face – Aiko as Yuumai believed she would be if Daichi decided so. The fear for this fate for her sister brought nearly overwhelmed the other emotions. "Stop," Yuumai whispered, unable to make it louder. Tears began to blur her vision, the images blurring together, each a new stab to her heart. Finally the scream ripped itself from her. "Please, stop!"

The feelings began to fade as quickly as they had begun. Yuumai gasped for air, still trembling from her emotional whirlwind. Tears slid free, making small paths down her cheeks. Hatred burned within her as she momentarily glared at Daichi. Then her face fell, hatred toward herself for being weak beating her hatred for him. "No, I never saw Ryu. Nor did I want to," she grumbled. "Not after he left us during the fight."

"That's not why he ran away!" Chouji instantly defended. "Ryu only ran away so he could go and get someone to help save us."

The only female snorted. "No way. People are selfish and only look out for themselves. If it'll help save them, they'll go for it. Maybe you think Ryu was being nice, but he's just saving his own butt."

"Now she's a girl that certainly trusts others, but both of you are wrong."

Daichi's words silenced them both. Everyone in the room except Senshi focused on him, varying degrees of confusion showing on their faces. Daichi was only a man who had held Ryu captive while Shikamaru and Chouji were his team-mates. Wouldn't they know better than him? After all, they had spent more time with him than anyone else in the cave except Asuma.

Their perplexed expressions only received another smirk. "Apparently you don't know your own friend very well. Then again, you've never seen him in a bad situation." Daichi seemed very amused holding information they didn't know. "Back when he was originally taken, he gave himself up to try and distract us from that other girl we took with us. He refused to eat or drink for days because he knew we'd drug the food and he wasn't going to leave that girl undefended after the first time he was doused. Even when going through great mental torture, he wouldn't give up a bit of information on the Leaf. Even as a ten year old he's played the hero." He suddenly gestured toward Yuumai. "You should at least have an idea on this. Even against four grown men he rushed in to try and save her.

"No, he will not run to get help. He will stay in the Shira Forest and come back the first chance he gets. Ryu will try and play hero just like before and save you. Only this time he doesn't stand a chance. You will accompany me to the village and you will watch as I capture him without a hassle."

The three teens remained silent, drinking in what he had said. Yuumai seemed the most stunned by the information. At ten years old he had dealt with mental torture just to protect a girl and his village? But why? What would he gain? What did it give him to keep her safe? It didn't make sense. Humans were selfish and cared only for what kept them safe. She had seen this proven many times.

_Was that why he ran in and saved me without knowing who I was? Maybe Seizon was like this. My parents could have even been doing it out of selfishness. But how could saving me have been selfish?_ Her thoughts only confused her more.

"Why don't you just put us under your genjutsu?" Shikamaru asked. "After all, then you could ensure our cooperation just like our sensei."

Why would he be so stupid as to ask that? Yuumai wanted to slam her fist into his head. What if he hadn't thought about that? But even as she mentally fumed, she noticed how he intently watched Daichi for his reaction.

He hesitated for a moment before answering. "I will not need to. I can just force you to do as I say. Or, if you wish, I could show you what it is like to be killed by your own sensei."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly in thought. "That is, if you can. What, is Asuma so difficult to control you cannot take control of more than one person?"

"Of course not," Daichi sneered. "I have such great control of him he wouldn't even recognize you right now. Have you ever been asked to completely forget everything? When my genjutsu is strong enough, I can make a person forget whatever I want them to. With Ryu's refusal to listen, I've done just that to your precious sensei."

If anything, this only confused Shikamaru. What was he thinking? Where was he hoping this line of questioning would lead to? Was he trying to convince Daichi to use his jutsu on them?

Daichi eyed Shikamaru, waiting for him to ask another question. When he didn't, the man smirked and turned to Senshi. "Stay and watch to make sure they don't plan anything. Especially the black haired boy," Yuumai barely heard Daichi whisper to Senshi as she was the closest to them. "Make sure to get some sleep, children," he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear. "Tomorrow is sure to be fun."

With that, he left, leaving them with the dark haired bandit. Like before Daichi arrived, Senshi sunk to the ground and acted as if he was asleep. It was nearly impossible to tell he wasn't.

"Guys, do you really think Ryu will come tomorrow?" Chouji asked, looking between Shikamaru and Yuumai.

Once again Yuumai found herself denying the fact. "No, he won't. He has no reason to come back and risk his butt to save us. He'll probably do the smart thing and go to the Leaf for some help."

Shikamaru chuckled, making Yuumai look at him. His lazy eyes were focused on her, a small smile on his face. "Did you not hear Daichi?" the Nara asked. Shikamaru leaned his head back, gazing at the ceiling. "He's already done it once, hasn't he?"

"Doesn't mean he will again," she muttered, toeing a rock on the ground. No matter how much she wanted to believe he might, she refused to let herself. After all, she'd already been hurt enough after Seizon and just the everyday darkness of humans. She was done putting her belief in others.

Right?

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><p><strong>Answer to the last question: Teen romance novels<strong>


	15. Evil Angel

**Note - this was written about two nights ago, so it will refer to it being night a couple of times, if not more.**

**Hey guys. Okay, I realize it's been another FREAKING 2 MONTHS+ since I've updated. How people stick with me I have no idea. I am so inconsistent and with school started up that will probably honestly be worse than usual. I'm trying to make a schedule but knowing me, don't get your hopes up people. Anyway, there's a few things I want to point out. The first thing I really hope you guys noticed. If not, I most definitely did.**

**I HAVE 100 REVIEWS! No, no, correction, OVER 100 REVIEWS! I don't know about some people, but to me, that's a pretty big deal. I love Shadow-san for getting me there and could really hug him to death. As well as every other person who's helped me get there. If not for the fact it's passed my bedtime as is I'd probably do an acknowledgement thing or something. I would probably be a lot happier and put more things here if not, again, for the bedtime thing. Joys of being in school again. But only 2 more years since 11th grade is really just starting.**

**Second thing, there is a HUGE reveal in this chapter. You finally find out about Ryu's power! I would like to apologize, though, because in truth it could have been better. The reason it wasn't? A) They have friends whose lives are in danger and if not for the fact it would have only bothered Ryu during the fight Raido would have probably waited to reveal. Of course, you could argue knowing could bother him more, but hey, either you wanna learn it or you don't. I don't have time to argue this right now. Okay, and then B) I could make a short story on the power's background. If you really want me to go ahead and write that, maybe at one point I will, but for now, I'm just giving you the nutshell version. You can ask questions if you want. I know there are some holes in it, but they will hopefully be filled in later. Plus, you get to learn a really small tidbit about one of Ryu's family members. Or at least a small tidbit about his relationship with him/she/it.**

**Final thing, the ending was supposed to be longer. The reason I stopped it where I did is purely because of how long it has taken me to update. Now here's the thing - I'm thinking of doing a marathon so I can finish this freaking long arc that isn't even long but just is taking me forever to finish. Then maybe I'll do a small marathon for my other stuff. I dunno. All I know is that this arc has been going on for way too long.**

**Seeing as I have to get to bed, I'll just go ahead and stop there (probably forgot something) and add in the question for this chapter, and you really should know the answer to this one. As well as the song disclaimer. It makes sense to me. If not to you... Well, you can always ask me to elaborate. **

**Disclaimer: Evil Angel belongs to Breaking Benjamin and Naruto is all mine... I mean Kishimoto's. the prior owner is only in my dreams. **

**Why has Ino been so worried/stressed for the past couple of weeks?**

**Oh, and random note, I have a Twitter now... Yeah, blame DestinyGirl... If you want to follow me I believe it's Sasaui... Yes I said believe... Also I have a new site - .com. By the way, RIP those of 9/11**

**9-11-13**

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><p>The forest was relatively quiet. Sunlight slowly trickled through the heavy green canopy. Animal occupants were beginning to arise as the new day arrived, coming out with the sun. The birds' songs began softly in the background, intermingling with the occasional land dweller as they left their homes.<p>

Its peace was suddenly disrupted as the clash of metal against metal rang through the air.

Ino faintly noticed the squirrel the collision sent scurrying away in fear, but then her eyes focused on Kaine and Taiki once more. Taiki stumbled back, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. His free hand was always twitching either toward his kunai pouch for an invention or towards his mouth for reasons unknown to Ino.

"No, Taiki," Kaine scolded. "I told you, only kunai and taijutsu, nothing else." The dark haired boy jumped forward, bringing his kunai down in a wide loop. Taiki quickly, though at an odd angle, deflected the weapon with his, but it left him completely open. It was taken, Kaine's foot slamming into Taiki's ribs.

Taiki winced, stumbling away while clutching his side. Annoyance was clear on his face. He attempted another charge, but Ino was slowly losing interest in the fight and didn't really pay attention to the outcome.

Her gaze began to travel to the two distanced from the group, standing a few meters behind Hime while whispering to each other. Ino knew just what their topic was – whether or not she – and Taiki - would hear about Ryu's secret. Or had they already began to discuss it without telling them? Ryu wouldn't do that, would he? Raido didn't appear to be telling Ryu anything surprising.

As if sensing her thought process, Ryu glanced at her and smiled reassuringly. Ino returned it, drawing her legs to her chest. She needed to have faith in Ryu. Although she could only partially pay attention, once again she watched the training match. If she didn't stay distracted her anxiety would only grow.

After a few more minutes of watching small exchanges followed by tips from Kaine, or the occasional one thrown in by Hime, Ino suddenly heard footsteps. She jerked in surprise. Instantly she glanced back toward her team-mate. Sure enough, he and the other Zenjin were heading toward the group of teens.

Ryu's face was a mask of stress and fear, his eyes lowered to the ground. A bit of blood dotted the side of his lips where, Ino guessed, he had been chewing it. As Ryu took a seat beside of Ino, she saw he was also playing with his ring. The sparring match between Kaine and Taiki had come to an end. They were glancing between Raido and Ryu, waiting for the question that hung in the air.

"This is your last chance to back out," Raido reminded Ryu, also taking a seat. Before long the rest of his team followed suit.

She had begun to expect it, but Ino still felt relieved when Ryu nodded. "Yes, they can hear," he replied. He glanced at Ino, fear still plain in his eyes, but it was also accompanied by something else. "Please-" Ryu's voice momentarily broke off. Although his mouth remained open, it took him a while to actually get words out. "Please don't be afraid of me after this." Unlike before his voice was down to a mere pleading whisper.

Not only her, but most of the people from their class had always seen Ryu as a strong ninja-to-be raised by the Hokage. The fragile state she now saw him in, though, made it appear a simple incorrect word could shatter him. Was he truly that afraid of what he was to learn? And of how she'd react? Had something happened in the past to make him even more afraid of learning the truth?

"And if it affects your fighting afterwards I am allowed to take you out of our battle?" Raido confirmed, almost as if he was trying to talk Ryu out of this. The nod of reply made Raido lean back against a tree and glance over the gathered genin.

Ever since Ryu and Raido had approached, a strong tension had built within the area. Nobody appeared eager to break it, even the one who was supposed to speak. If anything, Raido seemed to be waiting for something, but what? Ino would say it had to with Ryu since he was looking at the boy, but so was everyone else.

It was because everyone was staring at him they saw his eyes suddenly harden as he raised them to meet Raido's. "We can't just sit around wasting time. I need to find this out or the curiosity will hinder my fighting ability."

That, Ino realized, was what Raido had been waiting for. It was finally happening, and Ryu needed to accept it and be braced for it. He wasn't just thinking of whether or not to let others hear it – he was sitting there actually hearing it now. Ryu had to understand that, and for the first time it seemed like he did.

"Good." Raido bit his lips, letting his head fall back so he stared into the leaves. "Guess the best place to start is always the beginning. Have any of you heard the legend of the Sage of the Six Paths?"

Ino thought for a moment, a similar confused expression on Ryu and Taiki's face. Finally Ryu snapped his fingers. "Oh, isn't that some fairy tale or something?"

Raido nodded. "That's right. Truthfully, most of what I'm about to tell you is legend, but it is the most we know. The only thing we really know for a fact is what is inside of you," he admitted.

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Ino demanded. She didn't mean to be rude, but she thought they had already established they needed to hurry so they could save the rest of Team 10. Even as she asked, though, part of her tried to recall the fairy tale. After Ryu mentioned it, Ino thought she had a vague memory of hearing it before. It must have been when she was very young, though, because she couldn't remember anything.

It was Taiki who spoke. Like Ino, he must have been thinking of the legend, but he'd actually remembered it. "If I'm not mistaken, the Sage of Six Paths took down a demon trying to destroy the world or something, right?" Taiki asked. "Is the demon mentioned inside of Ryu or something?"

"No, that's not it," Raido answered. Apparently deciding on what he wanted to say, the man brought his eyes back down to the group. "The demon in the fairy tale only has a bit to do with it, but it is part of the beginning."

Ryu could barely stop himself from getting up to leave. The more they spoke, the more the legend started to trickle back to him. Whatever was inside of him, it had to do with a story about a monster with the ability to destroy the world. So far just the beginning was scary. His thoughts momentarily strayed, wondering to the blond female sitting beside of him. Was she starting to regret sticking around? Raido had tried to assure Ryu by pointing out both Hime and Kaine knew the truth but they weren't afraid. It had done very little to ease his anxiety, though, because Raido hadn't seen Sakura's face.

"Something those who know parts of the legend would never guess is that it is believed the world was created by this beast," Raido continued. "Most thought it had just come out of nowhere and needed a place to be its home. Even if that is not true, at least it is known where it came from if it did exist, and that is the main part of that legend."

Once again Taiki suddenly spoke, his eyes wide in thought. "The spirit world?" This time when everyone's eyes fell on him, the boy actually appeared bashful.

Raido leaned forward against his knees, one of his dark eyebrows raised. "How did you know about that, Taiki? I don't believe we've ever mentioned it around you."

"Well, you see, after I learned of your true identities, I did some research on your clans," he explained, almost apologetically. "One of the things I read mentioned the clan's belief in some place called the spirit world. Am I right, Raido-sensei?" Although usually talkative, Taiki had no problem quickly shifting the attention now that he had been discovered.

Noticing his nervousness, Raido smiled and nodded. "Yes, Taiki. That is right," Raido said. "It is believed that if this monster did exist, it came from the spirit world. It is believed there is where the monster changed, and the reason why is the other part of why it has anything to do with my explanation. The spirit that is inside of you, Ryu, is known to be from the spirit world."

Realizing they were growing close to learning just what was in him, Ryu began to mentally brace himself. Something that had tainted a spirit believed to create the world? Was it the thing inside of him? Or was it something else? Even if he was scared about learning the truth, he found himself growing more and more curious.

"The next part may be a bit confusing," he warned, "so if you have any questions later you can ask, but I am going to try to reduce it since we are in a hurry. Anyway, even to begin with the world had hatred everywhere. Not only did the darkness spread in human's hearts, but that darkness also tainted their chakra. It is said the spirit mourned seeing this, and hated what the darkness brought. What made it worse was when a person died, while their soul moved on, their chakra left their body to gather in the spirit world. When this happened, the darkness in their chakra began to taint the spirits. To protect the spirits, apparently the spirit that was supposed to have created the world decided to take on the hatred himself.

"I'm sure you can guess what began to happen after that. The spirit began to fall into the very darkness we humans had, and although for a while it was strong, it began to lose itself. Slowly it fell into bouts of anger, and by the time this started happening, another spirit decided it was time to step in. Its true name is not known, but it made a deal with the first spirit. Although it had refused to let any other spirit take upon the entire burden of the darkness, the other spirit managed to convince it to give up the strongest darkness – killing. It wasn't only murder, but simply killing another tainted ones soul. Killing is a terrible sin, and because of that, it is a powerful darkness. The second spirit managed to convince the original one to at least let it bear that darkness. After it did take the darkness of killing, its name changed to one you all may be more familiar with – Shinigami."

A shocked silence fell over the group as three dismayed gazes fell upon Raido. He knew the second the children heard the familiar name they would be surprised. In Ryu's eyes, however, there was a slight fear. His team-mate, Ino, was biting on her lip, a war raging in her eyes. Raido could only guess what they were thinking and knew he would have to speak soon or else Ryu would misunderstand.

Before he could get a word out, in a quiet voice, Ino asked, "So is Shinigami the spirit inside of Ryu?" She didn't appear so much afraid as much as deep in thought.

"Not exactly," Raido said. "There's still a bit more to the story. So, how about we continue?" The only reason anyone was given time to nod was Raido paused, trying to recall just where he had been. "As you know, Shinigami took the darkness of killing from the original spirit. Although this did slow down the spirits descent into darkness, it did not stop it. Not only that, but Shinigami found that he was falling as well. The world was growing darker with wars breaking out often. Although the greatest amount of darkness had been taken from it, the spirit fell to the darkness first and attacked the world. That was when the Sage of the Six Paths took on the spirit. Not too much is known about that since it isn't even known if that is all true or not. For all we know the spirit is still alive in the spirit world.

"What we do know - or at least believe we know - is that despite his best efforts and help from others, Shinigami also fell into the darkness. Before he did, though, he requested that he be sealed so he wouldn't go on a rampage. This seemed like it would end the problem when he was sealed, but obviously it didn't. More killing occurred, and even sealed it further tainted Shinigami. It became much worse than he had believed it could be. Any scrap of his old self was gone. He began to feed off the darkness to grow more powerful. When he was strong enough, Shinigami destroyed the barrier that had previously sealed him and started to take out the spirit world.

"Some actually believe the war that was raged to stop Shinigami in the spirit world is part of what caused the first ninja war because the darkness was so great it actually began to affect our world. The war was great and it appeared Shinigami wouldn't be beat. Finally the spirits actually borrowed an idea we have. I'm sure you all know what a jinchuuriki is?"

Ryu's eyes widened ever so slightly. Naruto flashed through his mind, but Ino wouldn't know a thing about that. Seeing as most adults did, would Raido? He wouldn't accidentally bring it up, would he?

"Like Gaara?" Taiki asked, his eyes narrowed in thought. Ever since the discussion had begun, he had been relatively quieter, most of his focus on Raido's words and his own thoughts.

Raido nodded. "Exactly like Gaara." Seeing Ino's confusion, he added, "A jinchuuriki is someone who holds one of the nine demon beasts within them."

The blond slowly nodded in understanding, but out of the group she was the most taken back by all of the supernatural talk. She had grown up in a world of the real, and now she kept hearing talk of spirits and demons. Of course, according to Raido, they were real. By the sound of it, some person named Gaara actually had one of the demons inside of him. For a moment, Ino wondered if that was what had happened to the Kyuubi. The thought was quickly dismissed, though. After all, they would have been told that, right?

With that out of the way, Raido decided it would be best to get on quickly. It would already take time just to let Ryu quickly take in the truth. He needed to get the explanation out of the way. "As for using this idea, two warrior spirits who had been battling Shinigami stepped forward. Obviously no one spirit could take all of the darkness inside of them. They had come up with the idea of splitting Shinigami in two and putting it in the two strongest spirits. From there they would be sealed and have the killing darkness stored somewhere else. The two warriors mentioned something about getting the Soul Sibling's* help, but for some reason what that meant was never elaborated."

"And that's what they did," Ryu murmured, a certain piece of the puzzle finally falling into place. "Then somehow part of the spirit ended up in me."

"In a nutshell, yes, that is pretty much all that happened. As for how Shinigami ended up in you, that is actually something you can thank your father for."

Ino instantly perked up. Ryu's father? Even if they shared no blood, unconsciously Ino had started seeing Asuma as his father just like she saw the Hokage as his grandfather. There had never been any previous mention of his true blood family. Instantly she glanced at his face for any sort of reaction. She never expected to see the boiling rage Ryu was trying to push down. His hands clenched the cloth of his pants as his knuckles grew white. Small twitches were the only other sign of movement as he battled a deep anger within himself.

When Ryu spoke, his voice had become an emotionless whisper. "My father?"

Just as Ryu's reaction had been plain, so was Raido's. The man's face had fallen, a great sadness and what appeared to be regret displayed upon his features. "You know how your father is, so what I'm about to tell you shouldn't be very shocking. An olde lady that had been quite close with the spirit world cursed your father for what he did to her grandchild. She said '_Because of your selfishness, the child your wife shall give birth to will be cursed for the rest of his life._' That curse was part of Shinigami."

With his explanation finally done, Raido sat back against the tree, cautiously watching every move Ryu made. His attention would occasionally flicker to Ino, but he was more interested in Ryu. Taiki, he knew, wouldn't be too affected already knowing about his team-mates.

Realizing he had been told everything Raido knew, Ryu began to actually let everything sink in. As it did, Ryu bit his lip, fighting back the tremors threatening to overtake his body. Multiple questions invaded his mind, mixing with memories and an undeniable fear. He had always known there was something inside of him. It was something he had never been able to control and thirst for death. Now he finally knew why.

Shinigami. He was hosting part of _the_ Shinigami. The mere thought nearly overwhelmed Ryu. How could something like that even be possible? Then again, wouldn't Naruto have thought the same upon finding out the Kyuubi was in him? For a moment Ryu felt respect for the boy. Ryu, having known that he was at least hosting something for years, was taking something harder than Naruto had seemed to upon finding out about his jinchuuriki status. He wouldn't have even known Naruto had found out if Hiruzen had not told him.

_I cannot let this overtake me. If I do, I can't save everyone._ Even that motivational thought made it difficult to shake off the pure shock of the discovery. And it was his father's fault. His sins weighed upon Ryu more than he had previously believed.

He jumped when he felt something squeeze his hand. Momentarily pulled from his own mind, he glanced down to see Ino had wrapped her hand around his. Gradually raising his eyes, his pale orbs met her green ones. Although he was sure she was shocked like he was, she didn't show it. Ryu had been afraid to meet her eyes, expecting fear or disgust despite her gesture to try to gain his attention. In fact, though, the only thing he could make out was a gentle, comforting care. Her next words stopped him from continuing to wonder about her thoughts.

"Ryu, you're still Ryu Sarutobi, no matter what is inside of you," she said. "Maybe you do possess half of Shinigami. Yes, that's major, but that doesn't change who you are. Right now, who you are is what matters, because it's who you are that makes you strong enough to fight him. Who you are is why you're not, and will never be, alone to face this. You're going to have to have faith in yourself or else we can't save everyone."

Kaine suddenly chuckled, completely shattering the silent moment that followed. "Your friend is right, Ryu, but she must have known this from the beginning because no teen should be able to think of that on the spot," he remarked.

"If you weren't strong enough to hold back what's inside of you, you would have already gone on a rampage," Hime piped in. "But that's just how you are. You even managed to control his chakra a bit."

In a rare occurrence recently, Ryu purposefully began to mess with his ring. "That's only because of this, though," he said, holding it up. Even if he knew they would want an elaboration, he wouldn't give it. Despite that, he still kept on. "This holds it back somehow."

"Where'd you get it?" Taiki asked. When Ryu simply dropped his hand and said nothing, Taiki quickly began to ramble his apology. He broke off, though, as Ryu began to laugh.

"I don't understand you guys." He forced the laugh enough that it was only an occasional, random chuckle. It had almost been out of hysteria, but it had proved a good way to relieve stress. "All of you know the truth now yet you're not afraid." Of course, they had never seen his released form, but they could probably imagine what it was like just knowing about the Shinigami half. He wasn't sure if they were only being strong for his sake, especially in Ino's case, but he didn't care. All he knew was it was what he needed.

Finally completely ending his laughter, Ryu allowed his head to drop, and it was at that moment he realized Ino was still holding on to his hand. He was relieved he had let her listen in. If she hadn't been there, he was sure he would have broken down. As it was, he could still feel the need in the corner of his conscious. For now, though, he wouldn't. Until everyone was saved, everyone's faith in him would be his strength. That was how it should be, right? Nothing should be faced alone.

His voice came as a surprise to Ryu. After all, he had been silent the entire time. _Look where sharing a burden got Shinigami. Look where it got the warrior who took upon his darkness. You'll only bring them down._

The new possibility shook Ryu to the core, and glancing at the others, he actually did wonder if it was right. After all, the spirit did have a point in what he said. Before he could think too deeply in to it, Raido suddenly raised to his feet.

"Okay then. It's time to save the Forest Village."

*~*~*~*~

The noise started as Yuumai was just about to drift off. There was the sound of rushing feet followed by a loud thud that fully drew her from her half conscious state. Blinking away the remaining bits of sleep, her eyes began to adjust to the dull light in the cavern. Chouji was stirring from a deeper sleep than she had been in while Shikamaru was fully awake, his eyes on the entrance.

Following his gaze, Yuumai's eyes fell upon the opening just as a bandit shot forward, slamming against the ground. Blood oozed from a deep wound on his shoulder while more dripped from his mouth and nose. Curses streamed as freely as the red liquid. As he tried to raise to his feet, another figure darted in, lunging at the man as he reached half way. Taken by surprise, both of them hit the floor with the new arrival on top. He was also a bandit, but it was obvious he wasn't taking it easy on his brethren. One more quick, powerful strike followed, knocking the first bandit unconscious.

His breathing slightly labored, the victor raised to his feet. He had taken far less damage with only the starting of a black eye and a couple of scratches. Bright green eyes scanned the room. They paused at every child, finally returning to the unconscious bandit below him. The man fell to one knee, reaching in to search the other's pocket. With a triumphant grunt, he returned to his feet. Apparently he had suffered some kind of leg damage because he approached Yuumai with a limp.

"Hey!" Chouji called, his voice slightly hoarse. "Leave her alone. She's just an innocent village. We're the-"

"Shut it, kid," the man snapped in an angry whisper. "If you keep yelling you'll alert the others, and you don't want that." Turning back to Yuumai, he raised his hand to reveal just what it was he'd retrieved – a key. "I'm not here to kill you or anything. In fact, I plan on freeing you."

Chouji's complaints drifted away as confusion took over. An unvoiced question remained in the air until Shikamaru finally sighed. "Are you really going to make us ask why rather than just tell us?"

A small smirk pulled on the man's lips as he began to unlock Yuumai's cuffs. It was all she could do not to struggle, every instinct telling her to get away. The Shira Bandits had terrorized her village for a great amount of time, and it wasn't easy to just stare one of them in the face and accept he wasn't trying to harm her.

"Figured I'd talk as little as I can so I wouldn't make noise, but seeing as I'm sure one of you will just ask again if I don't answer, I'll go ahead and do it." Finished with her hands, he proceeded to Yuumai's ankles. It wasn't until she was free he turned so he was facing everyone. "The old Shira Bandits leader was Sentou, and to become the new leader Daichi had to kill him. The reason I'm freeing you is because I want you to help kill my brother's murderer. I want you to kill Daichi."*

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><p><strong>*1 - Anyone know where they come from XD<strong>

***2 - Does anyone remember Haishin? Well, he has returned. If I'm spoiling it for you because you thought it was the younger brother, oh well, but if you look up Haishin's meaning you'll see I was foreshadowing this event.**

**Answer to last chapter's question: The tree(s). **

**Also, I will probably go deeper into Ryu's feelings later, but for now there's not really time for him to sit down and just do some soul searching, so yeah... Friends in danger as well as a whole village, so...**


	16. Escape

**Sorry... I fixed this now...**

He could still see it clearly, both in his waking and dreaming hours. The young boy only around ten, a murderous aura pulsating from him. Those luminous blue eyes that simply begged for death, dancing with a twisted light when he was able to relish in Shiro's. That devastating power was terrifying, and yet so tempting. What would it be like to control such a power? Daichi couldn't tell if he was more afraid or enthralled by the power that young boy possessed.

"And you're going to help me get control of young Ryu, aren't you?" He laughed, leaning against one of the cave walls. He was in the same chamber in which he had taken over the Shira Forest Bandits by killing Sentou. In the center of the room was Asuma Sarutobi. The man's eyes were empty, staring absolutely blankly straight ahead. It was prove that Daichi had Asuma under his complete control, numbing the person until he was a mere puppet.

Originally when he had taken over the Shira Forest Bandits, Daichi had simply been trying to find a new base of operation. After all, he was a wanted man in Konoha. At least with the bandits he was somewhat lying low while growing power. When Ryu Sarutobi came into the picture, however, it completely changed the situation. Now he had an opportunity to gain a power that would likely strike fear into other nations. As petrifying as the strange power was, the draw of controlling it was irresistible.

Approaching footsteps drew Daichi from his own mind. Senshi had jogged into the room, instantly looking over at him. His eyes were narrowed in confusion. The man had become Daichi's right hand man ever since he found out Senshi was from Konoha's Mokushi clan. They were a clan known for their genjutsu such as Daichi's own clan, and in truth it greatly helped the Shigamo's jutsus. The Mokushi jutsus focused on emotions, and those who had the kekkei genkai were especially terrifying – the ability to "read" someone's heart. Senshi had a slight ability in it, though sadly it was weak or he could be even more beneficial. It made it so even those prominent in breaking genjutsu, such as a jounin, were less likely to sense it coming because Senshi would draw forth memories of their past through emotions that put them off to begin with. It wasn't always necessary, but it was useful.

However, he had no reason to be in the room at the moment since he'd been charged with watching over the prisoners. "Senshi, what are you doing here?" Daichi demanded, pushing off the wall. Had something occurred with the children?

Daichi's question seemed to perplex Senshi. "I was told you needed me, but you don't need to worry. I left Tsukune to watch over them, though."

Knowing that was, in fact, false, Daichi's anger flared. "Who told you this? And why did you believe them after I have told you previously not to take your eyes off them?"

The rage in Daichi's voice sent the color out of Senshi. Before he replied, however, realization flashed through his features. He cursed, only further confusing Daichi. "I wondered why you would have sent him. It was Sentou's brother, Haishin."

Like his underling, Daichi began spouting curses, then barked at Asuma, "Come! We are going to go make Haishin pay for his treachery."

"Hurry!" Haishin snapped in a hushed voice, shepherding the three teens through the rocky hallways. "It won't be long before they come looking for us."

According to Haishin, the trio had been imprisoned in the very back of the cave. Apparently it was a good tactic in case they did escape, giving the bandits more time to react and find them. Haishin, however, was taking them down a path only someone who had been in the caves for years would know. They were hoping that meant Daichi wouldn't know of it.

Yuumai still didn't trust the man. The only reason she followed was partially because both Shikamaru and Chouji were following him. The other was Haishin promised that he had already released Shinji and he was now waiting in the forest. If he was telling the truth, she couldn't risk leaving her dog alone. Of course, she wanted to save her sister, but apparently the villagers were still being kept under siege in the village.

Chouji jogged to catch up with Haishin, huffing ever so slightly whereas there was no effects on the others. "What about… What about Asuma-sensei?"

Haishin sent Chouji a glare, angered by his lack of control of his voice. "Quiet, child. Trust me when I say you don't want caught," he chided. "Right now we cannot focus on him." Although a moment before, Haishin had sounded harsh, now he seemed sad, possibly even pitying their situation. "But don't worry, eventually something will be done there. Asuma is an important asset to Daichi, so he isn't in danger."

Whether he believed Haishin or not, Chouji allowed the subject to drop. Instead, the lazy one chimed in. "So you say that Daichi doesn't know about this route, right?"

Yuumai considered him, then tensed. Shikamaru had proven to her recently that, he was intelligent under all that sloth-like behavior. If he was suddenly being quizzical, surely there was a reason. Could he be rethinking going along with Haishin?

Whatever it was Shikamaru was thinking, Haishin sighed. "I was hoping you'd just be good, naïve children still that kept running," he said. "Yes, kid, you're right. If we don't keep running, there's a good chance another one of the other bandits will find this path."

A tremor of fear ran down Yuumai's spine. Her feet began to move quicker as the realization they were still in danger set in. She didn't want to think too much on Haishin's earlier statement about them not wanting caught. Daichi didn't seem like the type that would be very forgiving of their escape attempt.

"We're getting close to the exit," Haishin informed the trio after a while of running in silence. "Once we're out, we need to - Down!"

The sudden development shocked Yuumai. Haishin dropped to the ground, Chouji and Shikamaru following. In her surprise, she had frozen, and if not for Shikamaru yanking her down by her wrist as he went down, she would have been impaled in the back by the kunai that soared over their heads.

Haishin grumbled colorful choice words as he scrambled back up, turning to face the way they had come. He was standing between the children and the new threat before they even raised fully back to their feet. Although it was only a tiny blessing, Daichi wasn't the one who had founded them. Instead it was Senshi with a couple of the other bandits. However, she doubted it would be that way for long.

"Find Daichi," Senshi instructed one of the bandits with him. "Tell him we've found the escapees and the traitor."

"You're the traitor," Haishin snapped, sliding out a kunai. "You were the one who so easily accepted the man who killed the leader who took all of us in."

Senshi scoffed as the man he spoke to before sprinted off to fulfill his duty. "You only say that because he was your brother. If it had been anyone else, you would have agreed with mostly everyone else – the strongest is the one who should lead. Killing Sentou just showed his strength." Both Sentou and the remaining female bandit with him armed themselves with their own kunai. "It's about time you are disposed of, Haishin."

"You three need to run," Haishin said, glancing back at the teens. "I may be able to stall Senshi and the other at best, but I cannot defeat them. If you stay, you'll be caught, and all of this would be for nothing."

Yuumai eyed Haishin, confused as to why he wouldn't just let them be caught and run. What could they do that he couldn't? It took her a moment to understand. He was a bandit. If he went for help to defeat the bandits, they'd take him in rather than believe him and help the Forest Village.

Laughter echoed off the walls as Senshi heard this. "You believe you can protect them? You're more foolish than I thought, Haishin." The second-in-command lunged at Haishin, kunai drawn to strike.

"Run!" Haishin barked, blocking the slice for his neck.

Once more Yuumai's wrist was yanked, forcing her into action. This time Chouji had grabbed her, pulling her along, as Shikamaru had already started running. "We're just going to do as he says?" It was the logical thing to do, but considering how much the Leaf genin seemed to fight for what was right, part of her was astounded by how easily they ran.

"We can't do anything else," Shikamaru replied, running nearly at sprint down the path. She and Chouji could barely keep up. "If we stayed, we'd be caught again. This is the only way to get anything done."

Having no argument, Yuumai simply continued running, hearing the battle rage on behind them. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew how that would end. Haishin had just given his life for them to escape.

To Yuumai's immense relief they found the exit before too long without any trouble. They burst out from the dim light of the cave into cloudy morning light. Yuumai paused, gasping for air, eyes darting around to look for any traps or, more importantly, Shinji. Her dog must have taken off to wait for her somewhere else that was safe, or taken the other exit, because she didn't see him. He'd eventually pick up on her scent and come find her, though.

The Leaf genin were still running, and Yuumai almost chased after them, sure they were going to go get help, but then a thought occurred to her that stopped her in her tracks. Neither Chouji nor Shikamaru had to worry. As Haishin said, Asuma was a valuable asset. He wouldn't pay for their escape. However, he had no such worries when it came to Aiko. Yuumai bit her lip, beginning to jog to catch up. She was simply being paranoid. There was no way that Daichi would go out of his way to punish her sister. After all, Yuumai was just a random girl to him.

Despite her best attempts to cling to this hope, unwelcome images flickered into existence in her mind's eye. Her parents' dead bodies laying out in the Forest Village streets, their bodies leaking blood from multiple kunai wounds. Her brother's pale, unmoving body on the forest floor, his eyes staring blankly at nothing. Then Aiko, the only living one. She could all too easily visualize a kunai slicing her throat open.

She wasn't even conscious of the fact she had changed directions to go toward the village until she heard Chouji call out to her.

"Why don't we get help from Konoha?"

Raido stopped mid-sentenced. The group all sat around where fire had been as Raido discussed their battle strategy. It had been drawn to a stop, however, with Ino's sudden inquiry. Ryu, despite his unyielding need to rush to their team-mate and villagers' aid, had to admit, the question was reasonable. What confused him, though, was that Raido refused to meet Ino's eyes.

"There's something I didn't tell you because I figured you had enough to deal with deciding on the Shinigami news," Raido admitted.

The two Konoha children looked at each other. It made sense to fear Ryu would become overly stressed, but it was obvious neither was entirely happy with Raido for keeping something from them considering this rescue. It was their friends – they needed to know everything they could. "What didn't you tell us, Raido?" Ryu asked, sliding his gaze from Ino to the man.

Before he answered, Raido examined the sky. Whatever it was he saw made him visibly relax. "Although we have plenty of time, I'm pretty sure you'd both be happier if we started moving. Especially once you hear the news." He rose to his feet, the other three Suna shinobi following. Ryu and Ino slowly did as well. Once he saw everyone ready, Raido took off toward the village. The others followed.

"Now tell us what it is you kept from us," Ino ordered.

Noticing the commanding tone in her voice, Raido chuckled. Nevertheless, he complied. "Kaine, tell them what you found while you were out scouting."

Kaine glared at the back of Raido's head. "Thanks for dumping this on me, Sensei." He sighed. "Anyway, when we found you, Raido-sensei sent me out to see if there were any other bandits looking for you. He didn't want Daichi to find us and set up a sneak attack. For a while, I didn't see anyone. When I was about to come back, though, I heard someone yelling something: 'Your friends will be executed at noon tomorrow if you do not meet us there.' He continued this over and over again. I followed him for a bit, but he was just wondering the forest rather than going back to their base. So I just took him out and came back."

"They plan on executing Shikamaru and Chouji at noon?!" Ryu exclaimed. Without thinking he searched for the sun's position, fear thrumming through him. They still had approximately an hour before noon. The fact did little to put Ryu at ease. He understood now why Raido had chosen to tell them this while they moved. Otherwise he was sure he'd have taken off anyway.

Rather than surprise, Ino appeared angry. "You had no right to keep this from us. These are our friends. We had every right to know!"

Her anger only seemed to grow when Raido sent an almost exasperated look at her over his shoulder. "Please calm down and understand, Ino. I understand the situation is bad, but you must also think of Ryu's mental state. He had the pressure of a big discovery on him, and I planned on going before noon anyway. Yes, you had the right to know, but I made the decision not to let you know for both of your sake at the time," he explained.

It wasn't like Raido was wrong. It also explained why they didn't get help from Konoha – there would be no time. Ryu sighed. "Don't be too angry at him, Ino. He did it for me."

Ino appeared flabbergasted that Ryu defended Raido. After a few moments though, she visibly gave in. As angry as she wanted to be, and possibly deserved to be, in the end there was no reason to be. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just…."

"I know." There was a new gentleness in Raido's voice, replacing the reasonable, almost commanding tone one he'd used for most of the day. "Don't worry, Ino. We will save the villagers and the rest of your team."

"Thank you, Raido," Ino murmured.

Ryu playfully bumped Ino, shocking her. It did achieve his goal of getting her to look at him though. He smiled reassuringly. She smiled gratefully back.

The village looked empty upon initial entry. Yuumai heaved for air as she stepped into her home, frantically glancing around either for someone she knew or one of the bandits. She had been running ever since the base, hearing Chouji's shouts behind her. They had only died out when Shikamaru had informed him of their close proximity to the enemy.

Upon her final stop, Chouji and Shikamaru finally caught up to her. It was only her superior knowledge of the forest that kept her from them. Chouji was doubled over, gasping, while Shikamaru appeared bored. "You do realize we just escaped the enemy, right?" he mused, eyes lazily scanning the area. Even if he acted nonchalant, he was being diligent.

Yuumai glared. "Unlike you, I actually have someone in the enemy's hands who is still in danger," she snapped. His attitude was beginning to annoy her more than usual. "I have to get Aiko out of here at least! She's all I-" Yuumai stopped herself. Scoffing at herself for nearly speaking her feelings to them, she once more began to jog, this time in search for her sister.

Chouji and Shikamaru followed.

She heard them before she actually saw them. They were around a large tree in the town center. Since she'd come from a side entrance, so there was no direct line of sight from her to the others. Before she even had the chance to run around the tree, she was yanked behind it. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

Shikamaru glared at her. "They're up ahead obviously. Tell me this - what are you planning on doing? Just rushing in against maybe fifteen bandits?" he demanded. "That's just crazy."

"What's your plan then?" she questioned. "I have no guarantee my sister won't be hut. Do you want me to just leave her here? It will take too long to get help. Daichi could kill her by then."

"She has a point, Shikamaru," Chouji admitted. "So what do we do to save Aiko? I mean, she did give us food." Despite the situation, it took Yuumai quite a bit of willpower not to laugh at Chouji's reasoning.

He was cornered by Yuumai and Chouji, neither appearing ready to give up on their pursuit. "Fine. Just give me a second to think of a-"

"Hey, who's there?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes, already sensing what was about to happen. Yuumai grinned. Upon their discovery, she ran around the tree in the opposite direction the voice had come from. Chouji followed to help. Now that they'd been found out, their best option – besides running like any reasonable person probably would do, Shikamaru thought – was to run the other way around the tree. "How troublesome."

The first bandit she saw, Yuumai punched square in the nose. The woman shouted in surprise, stumbling back as blood gushed over her face. "Keep them busy while I grab Aiko!" she called to Chouji. For once she was thankful for all the running Ryu had made her do. Because of it she was able to force herself to continue running toward the group of villagers.

A bandit leapt out in front of her, bring a kick around toward her head. She managed to block it. He was fast but sloppier than Ryu. Fighting against the sting of pain, she stepped forward, ramming her elbow into the man's gut. He grunted, but the real pain came next when Yuumai drove her knee in his groin. As he doubled over moaning, Yuumai continued. She just needed to get past the bandits. That didn't mean she had to completely bring them down.

"Yuumai!" Chouji shouted. "Watch out."

She didn't have time to move. Something big slammed into her from the side, throwing her to the ground. The large object came with her, pinning her to the ground. Pain screamed to life in her forehead, momentarily sending black spots across her vision. When the spots cleared, she saw an enormous man above her. He had his hand drawn back, a kunai in his head.

"Nobody is to interfere with Lord Daichi's plans," he spat. "Anybody who tries shall die!" With his proclamation, the man brought the kunai down, aiming right for her neck.

"Get away from Yuumai!"

Daichi had entered the village only moments after the chaos started. It hadn't taken them long to figure that the village girl had a sister in the village. At first they had simply planned on using her to somehow find the escapees, but his plans had gone in his favor instead. The escapees had come to the village for said sister. And it wasn't long before noon, which was when he planned on bringing them to the village in case Ryu had heard his threat.

"Haishin saved us the trouble of dragging the kids here it would seem," Senshi chuckled. He was a little bloody and bruised, but once Daichi arrived to the scene, it hadn't been hard to dispatch of the traitor.

"Just what I was thinking. Once we round up the children, we just have to wait and see if Ryu takes the bait." Daichi began to walk toward skirmish when it happened. The village girl was taken down by one of his bigger men, crushed under his greater weight. A kunai was in his hand, and he brought it down toward the girl's neck. Irritation shot through him, realizing one of his hostages was about to be killed. Then again, Ryu would be closer to his team-mates.

"Get away from Yuumai!"

With all the activity, nobody had noticed the two new faces who had slipped in. One dark haired boy and one blond girl. "Lightning style! Lightning snake jutsu!" the boy cried, sending zigzagging bolts of lightning into the large bandit.

Daichi laughed, unable to believe his luck. This was all perfect. It was no longer simply his hostages at the meeting point.

Ryu Sarutobi had arrived as well.


End file.
